The nights before Christmas
by Dreemy
Summary: Chat Noir discovers that Marinette's company is the best cure against his pre-Christmas blues. He tries to pay her back for her kindness by helping her get over her nerves to ask her crush out, but things don't go as planned. Meanwhile, Adrien and Marinette find themselves trapped on stage together and someone puts up a mistle toe at school. (Story continues after Christmas now.)
1. Nighttime sewing

_Welcome to this story! In my mind, it happens halfway in Season 3. Kagami and Luka exist but the season 3 finale hasn't happened.  
The story starts ___slow but I wanted to give Adrien/Chat Noir and Marinette enough time to get to know each other. It is not too Christmassy, the focus is on Marichat/Adrienette falling for each other. Hope you enjoy reading, the story is now completely planned out and should be finished by the end of April. If you are really impatient, you can skip to Chapter 5. That's where the pace picks up (I think).  
__

_PS: For the cover, I adjusted a photo from __goodfreephotos._

* * *

Marinette loved the weeks before Christmas. Her room basically turned into a gift workshop, as she stocked up on fabric and wrapping paper, plastered her wall with post-its to keep track of ideas and slowly built a pile of home-made gifts.  
Tonight, she was working on a bandana for Alya. It was late, the house was quiet but for the regular sound of her sewing machine and Marinette was completely absorbed by her work, when a gentle knock at the window made her look up. There was a dark figure outside, and a year ago, Marinette would have jumped to the other endof the room with a shriek. Not anymore though - she had learned to control her fear (well, most of the time, unless Adrien was talking to her) and she instinctively recognized Chat Noir as he dangled head down in front of her window.

Adrien didn't know what he was doing at Marinette's place. After a particularly tiring reception for a fashion show, he had needed to cool off. No better way to escape than to speed across the roofs of Paris, letting the cold air brush away worries about whether he had met his father's expectations today. Adrien loved that on these tours, he would sometimes catch a glimpse of people's lives behind the well-lit windows. He especially liked to see families together, seeing them briefly at the dinner table or parents reading bedside stories to their kids.  
Tonight he had been so late that many windows were already dark. So when he had passed Marinette's place, he had been surprised to see that there was still light on at the top floor. He had watched her working at her desk for a moment from the roof across the street, but then he felt creepy and in a spontaneous move, decided to pay her a visit instead.

"Chat noir!", Marinette said in a carefully friendly tone as she opened the window to let in a cold breeze and the grinning cat boy who rolled unto his feet in front of her. "Is everything alright?" She peeked at her phone, but there was no Akuma alarm.  
"Of course, everything is –" he stopped mid sentence, taking in the scene in front of him. "Wow", he said.  
Marinette followed his gaze and shrugged. "Yeah, it gets a little crazy here before Christmas."  
She closed the window to keep out the cold. When he did not speak, she explained the obvious: "I am working on presents for my friends and family."  
Chat Noir nodded, looking at the pile of gifts with fascination, before his gaze fell back onto her.  
"That is so nice of you, Marinette", he said politely. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your work. I guess it just looked so cozy and inviting in here.."  
He trailed off again and scratched his neck in a nervous gesture.  
Huh? Marinette looked at the sheepish figure in front of her in confusion. He was being awefully – polite? And that helpless smile he was giving her was almost.. cute? No cheeky puns, either. And he didn't help himself to one of the delicious Christmas cookies on her desk! The poor cat seemed to be really off his game tonight. He looked tired, too. Maybe there was something off in his private life. Over the past months, she had pieced together that Chat Noir's family life was not all rosy. He was feeling lonely and whatever was going on, it was putting a strain on him.  
She decided to be nice to him. It was Christmas after all. Maybe he needed someone to talk.

Marinette didn't ask what he wanted from her. Instead, she offered him a plate of Christmas cookies.  
Adrien was so grateful for her kindness, he could have hugged her. Seriously, that girl had to be the best friend anyone could wish for.  
But he didn't hug her, of course. Instead, he selected a chocolate covered, crunchy little masterpiece from her plate.  
It was so delicious, he was practically purring when he decided to take a second one.  
Marinette chuckled. "So", she said, "Hot chocolate?"  
Apparently his expression told her enough, because she just nodded and left him in the room with a relaxed "Don't touch the sewing machine!"

Adrien would have loved to come along and learn how to make hot chocolate. The idea of sneaking into the dark kitchen together was.. exciting. But he didn't, of course. It was not a good idea to risk waking up Marinette's parents. If they found them together, she would have to explain what he was doing there late at night. And the last time her parents had caught them together had ended in a very awkward way. Not to mention with Marinette's father being accumatized. He blushed when he thought about it.  
He picked up a magazine from Marinette's desk (_100 DIY ideas for Christmas_) and sat down on the canapé to read. She had trusted him by leaving him in her room alone, so he would obviously not sneak around. But he couldn't help noticing the pile of colourful ribbons on her desk. He was curious. What was she making? And would she make him, Adrien, a present, too?


	2. You alright, Chat Noir? (Nighttime II)

Marinette returned with the chocolate and they decided to drink it up on her little rooftop balcony.  
When she climbed up the stairs to get to the gallery where her bed was, her kwami Tikkie appeared from behind a large pillow and gave her a little wink, before retreating out of sight with an encouraging wave.  
Relieved that the little one was hidden (and not snoring in plain sight on her pillow in Marinette's bed), Marinette signaled to Chat Noir to follow her up. He was carrying both mugs with hot chocolate, insisting that he did not want her to fall from the stairs while entertaining him.  
Well, if he must.  
Marinette elegantly swung up to the rooftop, before looking down at Chat Noir, who watched her with a surprised expression. Then he seemed to wonder if he could step onto her bed with his super hero shoes on.  
It was too funny to see him so – concerned - about his manners. What a polite cat he was tonight!  
"Hand me that blanket, please?", she asked, pointing at a blanket on her bed, and he somehow managed to climb up with it while also carrying both mugs. He handed her the blanket and waited until she had wrapped herself in it before giving her the pink mug with hot chocolate. They leaned side by side against the railing, looking out onto the beautiful night skyline. Marinette in her blanket, Chat Noir in, well, his all-weather suit.  
"So, how are you doing?", she asked carefully.  
He was standing quite close, so he had to look down while she was peering up at him from between the blanket. He attempted a smile. But Marinette was not fooled, the smile didn't reach his eyes.  
"I'm ok, thank you for asking.", he said. He blew at the little clouds forming above his hot chocolate. It was so cold that the moisture condensed in the air.  
"How about you? How far are you in the Christmas production?"  
So he did not want to talk about what was bothering him. Fine, she decided.  
"I have pretty much finished the presents for my family", she said carefully, watching his face for a reaction. Did he look sad?  
"It is always a little difficult to find something for my dad.."  
"Tell me about it.." he mumbled.  
He definitely looked a bit tired now.  
Marinette waited for him to say more, but he didn't, so she sipped her chocolate and kept quiet.  
It was quite nice to be out here with him, she mused.

It felt good not to be alone tonight, Adrien thought, and looked at Marinette gratefully.  
Marinette seemed to sense that something was up with him, but she was considerate enough not to probe further, and when he directed the conversation towards her, she happily told him about her Christmas preparations.  
He discovered that he found her gift ideas rather intriguing and kept prompting her to tell him more. Special socks for Nino and Alya to wear while playing games? With each gift that she described, he was more amazed by her thoughtfulness. This girl was a genius!  
"It is really special how much time and effort you put into preparing gifts for your loved ones, Marinette", Adrien said sincerely.  
Marinette blushed, and her cheeks took on a similar color as her nose, which was quite red from the cold.  
He considered bumping her tiny reindeer nose with his finger, like ladybug sometimes did with him. Then he remembered something else. "So what about those ribbons on your desk?", he asked.  
"Oh those..", Marinette's blush deepened. "Those are for.. erm.. friendship bracelets. But I haven't started on them yet because I am unsure.. erm.. about the colors. And erm.. well, some things have changed so I am not sure if I will make them ..."  
He reached out and tipped at the bracelet on her wrist. "Prototype?" he asked.  
"Yeah…" Marinette sighed.  
"It's pretty", he offered cheerfully, but she did not respond.  
She looked – sad? - all of a sudden. Fingering at the bracelet on her wrist, not meeting his eyes.

Marinette starred at the bracelet she was wearing. It was blue and green, with a green quite like Adrien's eyes. Marinette had had the bracelets all planned out. She had found the perfect colors for everyone and was going to make bracelets for all her friends, with matching colors for the couples and best friends in the class. She even had an idea for Sabrina and Chloe that she would have made if she had felt particularly generous.  
And she had found the perfect ribbons for a bracelet for Adrien to match her own. But then earlier that week, she had heard that Adrien was meeting Kagami regularly and now she didn't know whether it was appropriate to give him a special bracelet that matched her own. What if he did not want to wear it because he wanted to wear a bracelet that matched with Kagami? Marinette felt tears prickling in her eyes. She scolded herself. So much about focusing on bringing joy to others and keeping up the Christmas spirits. So much about taking care of Chat tonight!

Adrien watched Marinette's face fall and his heart sank.  
What had he done?  
He frantically went over their conversation in his head. She had enjoyed telling him about her gift ideas so far, hadn't she?  
How had he managed to turn the mood from a cheerful _chat_ with hot chocolate to.. were these tears in her eyes? And what was he supposed to do now?  
"Are you alright?", he asked helplessly and tentatively placed a hand where he suspected her shoulder under the thick blanket. He could just about stop himself from patting her shoulder and making a "here here" noise.  
She obviously was not ok.  
Sometimes he hated how clueless he was. He had no experience interacting with girls. And now he had made Marinette cry, of all people.  
Maybe his inexperience was why he got along so well with Kagami. She was so direct, she just told him what she needed from him as a friend.  
Adrien looked at the unhappy girl in front of him, who was looking especially tiny wrapped in the big blanket around her.  
She looked up with a crooked smile.  
"I am trying", she said softly, "Trying to be alright, just like you."

Chat Noir looked so sad, Marinette thought.  
Her own moment of sadness seemed to have made him drop his own mask for a moment, as he looked at her with eyes full of concern and hurt.  
She could trust her intuition about him - something had happened that upset him, or a situation had escalated tonight, and he was visiting her because he needed company. Someone to comfort him.  
What did that mean? Did he not have people in his civilian life that he could turn to? Or was this something that he could not talk to them about?  
Poor kitty!  
With a sniff, she tilted her head and leaned carefully against him. His hand on her shoulder stilled for a moment. Then he slowly moved his arm around her blanket-wrapped figure and held her.  
It felt really good to relax into him. And the two of them looked out into the night sky together.

* * *

_Aren't they sweet? There is more to come, but for today I am giving them some peace and quiet. Imagine them looking out onto the dazzling lights at the Seine together._


	3. Where Marinette has a first idea

**Sunday**

"Tikkie, have you noticed anything about Chat Noir lately?", Marinette asked.  
"Like what, Marinette?"  
"I don't know. It is unusual that he paid me a visit, no? Last time that happened it was because I did not show up to his date. As Ladybug, I mean. I hate to think that I did something to upset him again."  
"He seemed a bit darker than usual yesterday", Tikkie agreed, but her attention was partly on the cookie plate. "Can you please make more of those jam filled balls?"  
"He didn't joke at all. I think Christmas might be a hard time for him.", Marinette continued.  
Tikkie sighed.  
"Maybe his family is not as loving as yours. Not everyone loves the Christmas period as much as you do, Marinette."  
At this comment, Marinette's thoughts shifted to Adrien naturally. She wondered how he celebrated Christmas in his family's huge, impersonal home. Something in the loneliness and sadness that she had sensed in Chat Noir last night reminded her of Adrien. But she didn't want to think about Adrien at the moment.  
"I think I am going to make a present for him", Marinette decided. "For Chat Noir. Maybe that cheers him up. He deserves to have a little fun!"  
"That is a lovely idea, Marinette!" Tikkie clapped her little hands. "I'm sure he will appreciate it. But how will you give it to him?"  
"I have a feeling he will come back to visit again. And if not, Ladybug can give it to him and tell him that I asked me to give him the present."  
They both giggled at her choice of words and Marinette got out her sketchbook. She was humming cheerfully when a first design formed in her mind. The thought of surprising Chat with a present lifted her mood immediately.

Nathalie had planned out a full program for Adrien on Sunday.  
Nothing unusual, but he did find himself more distracted than usually.  
Between Chinese lessons and homework, his thoughts kept drifting to Marinette. The night before she had been seriously unhappy when talking about the friendship bracelets. He wondered what that had been about.  
They had stayed on the balcony for a while, her tucked into his side in her blanket.  
When she shuffled out of his hold to politely thank him and mention that her feet were starting to feel numb, she had looked better - well, as good as someone could look with slightly blue lips.  
He smiled at the memory.  
Marinette could pull off blue lips.  
"Monsieur Adrien?" His Chinese tutor frowned at him and Adrien quickly picked up his brush to keep copying the characters in front of him.

* * *

_Only had time for a quick update today. Adrienette coming up next!_


	4. Alya's intervention

Monday

Alya hated watching Marinette interact with Adrien. Or rather, watch her _attempting_ to interact with Adrien. Her smart, outspoken and courageous friend reliably turned into a stumbling, red-cheeked mess when the blond boy was around. It was so obvious that Marinette was smitten with him, yet Adrien was – still, and after all that happened - oblivious to her crush on him.  
And here they went again!  
Adrien had approached Alya and Marinette after class. Alya had greeted him with a "What's up, Adrien?", and Marinette had made "Up, gnaa, whaa-hahaha, glurp!"  
Now Adrien was ruffling through his model hair in a charming gesture and Alya watched Marinette's eyes go wide at the sight.  
Was Adrien so used to girls fawning over him that he just chose to ignore it, she wondered.  
"All good with me", Adrien said in a friendly tone, responding to Alya's question. "How are you two though? We haven't talked for a while."  
_Yeah well, because you are hanging out with Kagami instead of us_, Alya thought dryly. Nino had discovered that Adrien and Kagami met at least once a week now to practice fencing and Japanese conversation.  
"Er.." Marinette said, while at the same time Adrien said "I..", and they both blushed.  
Alya cringed.  
When Marinette did not say anything else, Adrien cleared his throat and said quickly: "I thought maybe we could go iceskating again some time", he said. "I think I found a solution how I could get my father to let me go, and I'd really like to see my friends outside of school before we all leave on Christmas break. You know, to have a chance to talk and hear how you are."  
Marinette shot Alya a glance. She looked terrified at the idea of going back to the ice rink. Not surprising after the disaster from last time.  
Alya moved a little closer to Marinette to give her friend some gentle, moral support.  
Perhaps if Alya picked a clear, simple answer, and repeated it loudly in her head, perhaps she could mentally communicate it to Marinette to help her -  
"I'm not sure", Marinette said in a surprisingly clear voice, "It is busy quite.. quite busy.. these days."  
"Oh, I see", Adrien nodded understandingly. "You must be working on a lot of crafts projects before Christmas? Or is it the theatre play? I heard you volunteered to make the costumes for the 5th graders show, that is so cool!"  
Marinette cocked her head to the side.  
"Both, actually..", she said.  
"But Marinette!", Alya felt like she needed to stop Marinette from saying something that she would later regret. Marinette had taken the news of Kagami and Adrien's growing friendship very badly. She seemed to keep distance from Adrien at school now. But Alya could not seriously let Marinette turn down an invitation from Adrien.  
"Perhaps Marinette has more time next week, after the big theatre night", Alya said determinedly, giving Marinette a little nudge. "Maybe we do not have time to go all the way to iceskating, but we could all watch the show and go for a hot chocolate together after the play?"  
With the last sentence, she elbowed Marinette softly.  
Marinette frowned at her first, but then she apparently shook it off and gave Adrien a sad, little smile.  
"That would work better for me", she said.  
Adrien nodded eagerly. "Good idea, Alya. And don't worry, Marinette. If you have too much to do, just let us know. We understand!"

"Girl, what was that about?", Alya asked as soon as Adrien had left.  
Marinette sighed.  
"I am trying to keep some distance from him", she explained. "You know, I.. I have seen other people fall for someone who does not reciprocate their feelings, and their.. heartbreak. I would rather not be in that position."  
Alya raised an eyebrow.  
"And who would that be? A character from one of your romance novels?"  
Marinette blushed.  
"Alya - you know I am useless around Adrien. How is he supposed to get to know and like me if all I can do with him is stutter. I need to get over that first, but that will take time and since he and Kagami are getting closer and closer now, I just don't think I will manage fast enough…"  
"Hey", Alya placed her hand on Marinette's shoulder. Sometimes she wished she had not told Marinette what Nino had found out about Adrien and Kagami hanging out. Although they saw a lot of each other lately, Adrien had not expressed any romantic interest in Kagami. Marinette seemed to have blown it all up in her head.  
"They probably see each other because their parents think that they are appropriate company for each other", Alya said for about the tenth time that week, hoping the message would finally anker in Marinette's love-sick brain.  
"If your options were to either stay at home alone or to meet with someone your age, you would also meet that person! What do you think why Adrien became friends with Chloe?"  
Gee, Alya felt so bad for her friend, she almost wanted to just go and tell Adrien everything herself. Of course she would never go behind the back of her best friend, but perhaps just a little more encouragement could help..  
"Right now you are causing yourself heartache in order to avoid heartache. Stop that! If ever there was a reason to try your best to be around him, it is now."  
Marinette just sighed again.  
"But I really, really want to find a way to be more myself around him!", Marinette said. "I mean, all sides of myself, not just the shy and clumsy ones."  
Alya wrapped her arm around Marinettes shoulders. "You know, I think you can win him over even without that. But yes, why don't we focus on that? Let's do some thinking what you could try. Or, you know what, maybe your new theatre friends have some advice how you could better handle your nerves?"  
That, Alya decided, was actually a half-decent plan.

* * *

xxxxxxx  
_I am still working on finding my rhythm in writing, but I hope to update once or twice a week from now on. At the moment, it is all still a bit dramatic, but there will be more kitty love soon. And I will make Marinette work on her nerves a bit. Yay._


	5. Late night baking

White chocolate with strawberry cream and a little bit of pistachio, and raspberry with vanilla filling - Marinette was counting macarons when Chat Noir knocked on her window that night. Absentmindedly, she opened the window.  
"Hey, Marinette!", he beamed at her, closing the window behind him to invite himself in.  
She held up a hand to prevent him from interrupting her count.  
"59, 60, 61.. alright, 62 white, 30 red macarons. Hi, kitty!"  
He made a dramatic bow, before moving towards the macarons on her desk.  
"All in red and white, Santa colors", Chat Noir said. "They look fantastic!"  
"Thank you", Marinette said, trying to decide whether that warm, fuzzy feeling in her stomach was indeed joy to see him.  
"So.. which ones are mine?", Chat asked.  
"Who says you are getting any?"  
"Ooooh", he gripped his heart and pretended to stumble backwards after a hit, "The cruelty."  
"Ooooh", Marinette countered, leaning back equallt dramatically with a hand on her forehead, "The cliché."  
They both laughed.  
"Maybe if you behave yourself, Santa will get you a nice present this year!", she winked at him.  
"What, you mean saving Paris all the time is not enough to get on his good side?", Chat Noir asked, "Or yours?" He gave her a little nudge, before he snatched two little packages from her desk and started to juggle with them.  
"Please don't smash them, I would rather give people macarons that are not broken", Marinette caught them swiftly out of the air in front of him and placed them back on the desk. "What's up, Chat Noir? Are you ok?"  
He smiled and bopped her nose with his finger.  
"Yes, I am fine. I stopped by to ask if _you_ are ok. Your Christmas production seems.. very ambitious. Need some help?"  
"Help as in eating cookies…?"  
He rolled his eyes.  
"Help with the gift making. But I'd be happy to help you eating Chrismas cookies, too!"  
"Well, you can help me pack the macarons, if you like", Marinette said. "If you promise not to eat any. Beware, I counted them!"  
"I think I can handle that!", Chat Noir said cheerily, "Where are the boxes?"  
Marinette pointed at a pile of paper. "Gotta fold them first!", she said. "I want to personalize them with quotes. It would actually be really helpful if you could help me fold them so I can focus on the decorating... but you don't have to do that!"  
"Yes, I'd love to!", he said quickly.  
And thus they got to work.  
They worked in a comfortable silence at first as Marinette added calligraphed quotes and little doodles on the cartoon paper, while Chat Noir was concentrating on cutting and folding the paper into little boxes to be filled with macarons.  
After a while, he got the hang of it and they started to chat about the latest movie that Marinette had seen – Chat Noir hadn't gotten around to seeing it – and talked about their favorite music – Marinette was surprised to discover that Chat Noir liked Jagged Stone. He was also appropriately impressed that she had designed the cover of their CD.

"Hey, Chat Noir", Marinette put down her pencil and turned in her desk chair towards Chat Noir. "Can I ask you something personal?"  
He looked up at her from the floor, where he was sitting cross-legged amidst a stash of paper and folded boxes.  
"Maybe", he said carefully. "You know I cannot tell you everything."  
"It is not that", Marinette said quickly. "I was wondering.. I .. I would like to know how you manage to be so self-confident all the time."  
Chat Noir winked at her. "Why would I _not_ be confident, I am a superhero, Marinette. It comes with the suit!"  
Marinette rolled her eyes. "Can you be serious for a moment, chat? Don't you ever get nervous? Even when you're not Chat Noir?"  
He tilted his head. "I mean, I like to think that I am always Chat Noir. Kind of. But I understand what you're saying. Of course I get nervous. Everybody is nervous sometimes, Marinette."  
"Well, how do you deal with it? How do you make sure you.. er.. still function even when you are fighting with your nerves?"  
"Hm", he turned the paper in his hand around repeatedly. "I don't really get nervous a lot in that way, I think. But I do get anxious sometimes", Chat Noir said seriously. "Does that count?"  
Marinette kneeled down on the floor in front of him, listening.  
"I get anxious about all kind of things. About my family, for example, and about not being a burdon on others or hurting people's feelings." He hesitated. "I don't really have a good solution how to respond to that kind of feeling. I guess I just try to swallow them so that I do not upset the people around me. But, you know, when it happens in a situation where I cannot afford to get distracted, and when I'm not in.. erm.. suit. Well, it sometimes helps me to wonder what Ladybug would do."  
"Ladybug?", Marinette said surprised.  
Chat Noir was touching his neck now in a familiar nervous gesture.  
"Yeah, or I imagine myself in the cat suit but it works better with her, because she always stays calm and focused on the problem at hand."  
"Hmm", Marinette made thoughtfully. "And does it work when you, like, feel that your brain shuts down so that you are unable to.. Argh!" She threw her hands up in annoyance, "So that you cannot talk?" She looked at him hopefully..  
"Does that happen to you?", Chat Noir asked surprised. "Even when I was rescuing you from danger, you seemed to be extremely calm as I remember."  
When did he ever rescue her from danger? Marinette wondered. Delusional kitty.  
"Well", Marinette said, "It usually happens only when I talk to the boy I like."  
"Ooooooooohhh", Chat Noir made a teasing noise and leaned towards her with a grin.  
Where was the serious boy from the weekend before? She could use him now.  
"So you have a crush on someone? Why does that make you nervous? Doesn't he like you back?"  
"No - well, yes, I mean." Marinette looked unnerved. "We are friends. He doesn't know I like him."  
"And you like him a lot?"  
"Yeah", Marinette sighed. "I really, really like him."  
"Why haven't you told him then?", Chat Noir asked.  
"Well, because I get all flustered and nervous around him. Especially when we are in any kind of situation where I could possibly tell him."  
"Maybe it helps to practice", Chat Noir said, "When I have to .. er.. do something difficult in public, I practice beforehand. Sometimes in front of the mirror and sometimes, well.." Was he blushing?  
"Sometimes I put up a photo on my computer and pretend that the people on the photo are my audience."  
"Been there, done that", Marinette said. "Even with one of his photos."  
She buried her head in her hands. After a moment, Chat Noir said: "You know, if you like, you could practice with me?"  
"What? No!"  
"I am a decent actor. Tell me what he is like and I'll try to er.. respond like him?"  
"Oh, you are just looking for a way to make fun of me!", Marinette said. "I am NOT going to give you that chance to mock me."  
"No", he said sincerely, "I really just want to help you. You are a great girl, you deserve to be happy."  
"Mhh", Marinette looked doubtful.  
"Ok, what is he like?" Chat Noir said gently. He got up. "Is he as tall as me?"  
Marinette looked at him.  
"Yeah, he is pretty much your size, I think!"  
She got up and put her hand on her head, moving forward until she touched Chat's chin with her hand.  
Yes, he was definitely about Adrien's size.  
Marinette blinked. They were standing quite close now. Chat Noir looked a bit dazed and cleared his throat before he took a step away from her.  
"Alright. So, what is he like?"


	6. Lessons in flirting with prof Chat Noir

How was she supposed to describe Adrien to Chat Noir? The two boys were so different from each other!  
"He is a really _good _person", Marinette began. "You know, the kind of person who would help an old man across the street–"  
An image of Master Fu came to her mind, when they had first met and she had pulled him from the street. Where did that come from?  
"He is kind and gentle. And very considerate and polite. In an honest way, not to impress people", she said.  
"Ok, got it, nice guy", Chat Noir nodded. "What else?"  
"Not just a nice guy, a genuinely good person", Marinette corrected, "But yes, also nice. He is smart, too. He gets good grades at school and he always helps the others. And he is funny, too. We laugh together."  
"Check, Marinette. Smart, funny, charming, you got the perfect stand in!"  
She just rolled her eyes.  
"Let me guess, he also has a talent for music and sports?", Chat Noir asked, sounding bemused.  
Marinette thought of Adrien playing the piano and fencing. She smiled dreamily, nodding.  
"So.. ", Chat said lightly, "How does he treat you usually, do you talk to each other?"  
"Yes, we do", Marinette said, "Well, he talks, and my friends talk, and I try not to make a fool of myself by stumbling over my words!"  
Chat Noir grinned, then he grabbed her by both elbows and positioned her in front of him.  
"Then lets work on that. You stand here, I will walk up to you. And you imagine I am the lucky boy so you can tell me you like me. Ok?"  
"Ah, Chat, I don't know, this is kind of weird", Marinette protested.  
"Imagine I am him!", Chat Noir said determinedly.  
Marinette looked at him. At his blond hair and athletic figure. He did look a little bit like Adrien, didn't he? Of course, Chat Noir was more.. ruffled, more bad boy in his demeanour. And then his terrible jokes. And he had .. a tail and cat eyes. Granted, they were green like Adrien's.  
Yes, maybe she could pretend that the boy under the mask was Adrien.  
Marinette chuckled. Gee, what a weird thought. If Adrien actually was Chat Noir, what twisted situation she would have gotten herself into. If she just imaged the hundreds of times that she rejected Chat Noir as Ladybug. If he was Adrien, how stupid was that? Although, would she want to get together with him because he liked her super hero self? Shouldn't he like her as Marinette, too? And could she still like Adrien that way if he was Chat Noir, this cheeky…  
Her attention snatched back to Chat Noir, who was patiently watching her.  
Yes, she could like Adrien alright.  
"Ready?" he asked.  
"No", Marinette said, "But let's try it anyway."  
He nodded and walked across the room.  
"Imagine I am him", he said again and winked.  
Marinette took a deep breath. "Alright, hit me!"  
"Hey, Marinette!", Chat Noir said with a little wave, walking up to her. "What's up?"  
"No", Marinette interrupted. "He's not a 'what's up' kind of guy. And he definitely doesn't swagger like that, with his arms dangling."  
Chat Noir sighed. "Alright, I'll try again. But please use your imagination."  
Marinette closed her eyes.  
_Pretend he is Adrien, pretend he is Adrien_, she told herself.  
"Hey Marinette", Chat Noir said softly. "How are you doing? Nice to see you."  
His voice matched Adrien's quite well. She opened her eyes and saw him smile sweetly at her.  
_Pretend he is Adrien!  
_"Hi, Ad … Adr..", Marinette stuttered. What was happening here?  
She cleared her throat.  
"How lovely to see you. I am.. very well, thank you."  
Chat Noir looked at her, his lips twitching.  
"That is how you two talk? Are you going to offer me a cup of tea next with a biscuit?"  
"Nooo!", Marinette shoved him against his chest. "No, of course, we don't. We talk like normal people. I just got a little .. umm.. flustered." She had to laugh about herself.  
"Oooh", Chat Noir made again, "I made you nervous? So if it does not work out with teacup boy, you can still fawn over me. Think of it, a superhero boyfriend.."  
They both burst out laughing.  
"It is Buttercup actually", Marinette laughed. "Not teacup!"  
"Huh?", Chat Noir looked confused.  
"Never mind. I don't think this is going to work. But thank you for trying to help me, that was nice of you."  
"See what a _good person_ I am?"  
"Argh", she let her forehead fall against his chest with a groan.  
Chat Noir touched her arm so that she looked up at him.  
"You know, I think he is a very lucky guy, that Teacup boy. You are a wonderful person, Marinette." He said.  
There was the serious kitty again! She liked him so much when he talked like that.  
She could get used to having him around.  
"You are being very sweet tonight, kitty."  
"I am always.." He stopped when she wrapped her arms around him to give him a quick hug.  
"You're welcome, Marinette", Chat said quietly, hugging her back.


	7. Let's take 5, Adrien

Because of Adrien's ridiculous schedule, Kitty section had to have the final rehearsal a full week before the actual show. Of course his friends had all been great about it.  
"It's fine, Adrien", Rose chirped, "Stop worrying, we don't mind having the rehearsal early. It went great, didn't it?"  
"It really is fine", Luka added while packing his guitar. "I have an exam next week, so I can use the time off. Besides, it's not like this will be our biggest gig ever."  
"Some of us still attend this school, you know", Juleka said sourly. "We do care about giving a good performance here." The two of them got into a friendly banter of siblings, when Madame Bustier walked in.  
"Dears, are you done with your rehearsal? I was wondering if you could help us out on stage. Our pianist called in sick and the choir could really use another repetition. Adrien, would you perhaps be able to jump in..?"  
Adrien looked at his watch. He had about half an hour before his driver would pick him up, supposedly from a physics group project.  
"I will call home to ask if I can stay a bit longer", he promised.

Luka and Adrien walked over to the stage area together.  
The first thing Adrien saw was Marinette. She was sitting amidst a big pile of tulle, a light, fluffy fabric in different shades of green. The fabric was spread around her and partially covered her legs, making it look as if she was wearing a big ballgown and had kneeled down on the floor. What a sight!  
Luka apparently thought the same, because he quickly got out his phone and took a picture of her. Adrien felt a little sting. He would have liked to have this photo, too, but he felt too self-conscious to get out his phone now.  
"Hey, you two!" Marinette called in a cheerful voice. "How was the rehearsal?"  
Before they could say much, Madame Bustier waved Adrien towards the side of the stage, where about twenty younger pupils were jumping around a piano, looking at him expectantly.  
"Madame Bustier, I can only stay for 45minutes", Adrien said apologetically. "No problem, we take what we can get!", she ushered him towards the piano and placed sheet music in front of him.  
The pieces were easy enough, but Adrien still had to concentrate on the sight reading to not mess it up. The kids didn't mind, they were singing – or shouting? – at the top of their lungs anyway, but he didn't want to mess up while Marinette and Luka were listening.  
When they went over the third repetition of "Santa Clause is coming to town", he knew the chorus well enough to sneak a glance across the stage.  
Marinette was stuffing the fabric into a big plastic bag that Luka held open for her. They were talking animatedly and she laughed about something Luka said.  
Adrien noticed he had started to play faster, returning his attention to the piano. It wouldn't help to get through this rendition of the song faster; they were bound to start over anyway until his time was up.  
The next time Adrien looked up, Marinette and Luka had moved towards the stage props further to the back of the stage. Marinette was pulling up a chair and pointing at the top of the prop.  
Adrien turned a page. The "Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer" song was printed double-paged. Not handy at all.  
When he managed to look up again, he promptly messed up the next chord. Marinette was now standing on the chair, stretching to reach up to the top of the prop. Next to her was Luka, and he had his hand on her side to steady her. Adrien's throat felt sour.  
The kids thankfully kept shouting, er, singing, but from here on, Adrien's play was a mess. His attention divided between the sheet music, Madame Bustier, who was trying to keep up with his changes of pace, and Marinette who had her hand on Luka's shoulder to keep her balance... And what was that? Was she climbing onto his shoulders now to reach the..?  
"Let's take 5!", Madame Bustier called out. Adrien, who realized that he may have hit that last note a few too many times, sighed in relief.  
"Thank you so much for stepping in, Adrien!", Madame Bustier said. "I think we can continue from here with vocal exercises!"

Adrien headed over to Marinette and Luka. Marinette was sitting on Luka's shoulders, fixing something at the top of a big stage prop of trees.  
Adrien eyed Luka's hands, which rested on Marinette's thighs.  
Was Luka the guy that Marinette was secretly in love with? It would be just like her to tell Chat Noir that her crush was about his height, when in reality, Luka was easily a head taller than him. And two years older.  
"Adrien!", Marinette looked down at him with a wide smile. "That was very nice of you to help out the choir!"  
"You have good nerves", Luka added, starting to sing a "Santa Clause is coming to town.."  
Adrien felt a surprising urge to punch him at this comment. Well, not as long as Marinette was sitting on his shoulders.  
"Stop it, pleeease!" she pressed her hands to her ears, "I have listened to them practice often enough. I am so glad that my elves do not sing!"  
They all laughed.  
"Sorry guys, but I need to leave soon", Luka said, "Do you need help carrying the skirts home, Marinette?"  
Was he planning on walking Marinette home?  
"We could probably drop you off by car", Adrien suggested quickly. Then, remembering his manners, "Luka, you too, of course. If you need a ride..?"  
Luka was eyeing him curiously.  
"Thanks, Adrien. But I am here by bike. I will get home fine. Maybe a lift is handy for Mari, seeing that she has these two big bags of clothes with her!"  
Marinette's cheeks turned a bit pink.  
Did she prefer walking home with Luka? If so, Adrien had successfully ruined that for her.  
"I think I could walk home fine, the fabric is not heavy. But if it is no trouble to go by car..?"  
"It's no trouble at all!", Adrien said, "We just have to hurry a bit. Oh, and if someone asks, I was working on a physics group project. The one that had me busy all these afternoons lately."  
"Great. Eh, Luka, put me down?"  
Adrien observed as Marinette quite elegantly climbed down Luka's back and landed, slightly out of breath. Luka held her arm to stabilize her just a little bit too long.

The three of them walked together to the entrance of the school. There had been a bit of a weird scene when Adrien and Luka had both tried to pick up the bags of skirts, and Adrien – who had the faster reflexes – was starting to regret his victory. The hallway was not wide enough for the three of them and two gigantic bags. So now he was trolling behind Marinette and Luka, with a feather-light but enormous bag in each hand. Meanwhile, the two of them were chatting, although Marinette kept turning around to throw him an apologetic glance.


	8. Donata attacks

December was the high season of posh charity events. Adrien did not like them. However noble and effective the organizations were who received the money, the whole circus around it was such a farce. Glamorous halls with chandeliers, where the rich could show off their newest Agreste dresses, sip champagne and, with a bit of luck, have their photo taken with a celebrity (or for lack of better alternatives, a teen model). Meanwhile, people made a big deal about donating a little bit of money.  
It had been a particularly annoying evening, so Adrien was almost thankful for the akuma attack that ended the event early. An akumatized lady had shot expensive-looking pearls at people while screaming with a shrill voice. As his father had not been around during the attack, Adrien had just had to dodge his bodyguard long enough to transform, and he and Ladybug had easily defeated the pearl-lady – "Donata"- whose akuma was hidden in an expensive-looking, golden handbag. Perhaps the biggest complication had been the illustrious guests who kept crawling across the floor to collect the pearls that Donata was shooting, and who got angry when the pearls disappeared after Ladybug used her lucky charm.  
Before the akuma attack, Adrien had gotten through the night by telling himself that he really deserved another visit at Marinette's place if he managed to keep his cool while being pulled from one red carpet photo into the next. But when at home, Adrien could barely keep his eyes open to finish his homework.  
It would have been nice to quickly drop by Marinette's place to wish her a good night, he thought. What a weirdly appealing idea to go over there to fall asleep on her chaise, while she was probably working late to finish her projects.  
He was enjoying his time with her so much. Adrien had always known Marinette to be smart and caring, but she was also extremely kind and funny, in a very relaxed way, around Chat. He hadn't gotten to know her on that level as Adrien. It was too bad Adrien could not just drop by her place for nightly visits.  
"Pining over that girl again?", Plagg teased him.  
"Oh what do you know", Adrien snapped. Plagg cackled. "Quite a bit, kiddo."  
So Adrien decided to send her a text message instead. Ten minutes of awkward editing later (_Hey Marinette, hope you got home alright _was out of the question, since they had taken her home in his car. She had thanked him about twenty times for it.) he went with: _How are the elven skirts? And the seamstress?  
_After a few minutes, his phone buzzed.  
Marinette had sent him a photo of herself amidst piles of tulle.  
_Only 12 more to go :-) How was your event?  
_Adrien smiled. Now he had a photo of Marinette after all.  
_Let's say: Thankfully an akuma attack ended it early.  
_This time the response was faster. _Are you ok? What was it like?  
I'm fine. One of the guests got angry because she did not get the limited edition of my father's new evening dress and saw someone else parading around in it. She shot at people with pearls.  
\- Ouch! Glad to hear you were safe. Did you manage to hide during the attack?  
_Adrien hesitated. He didn't want to come across as a little boy who hid in a closet during an akuma attack. But that was exactly what a good civilian was expected to do.  
_Thankfully there was plenty of space to hide.  
_He saw three dots on his phone, indicating that Marinette was typing. The dots moved, stopped, disappeared, appeared again.  
Eventually, Marinette sent: _:-) You gotta learn to hide quickly in this city!  
True. Speaking of, I need to finish some homework here or else I also need to hide tomorrow..  
\- Don't remind me…  
How are you keeping up? Must be hard with all the Christmas preparations  
\- Less sleep... :-)  
_Adrien felt guilty. When he visited her at night, was he keeping her up even more than usual?_  
Take care, Marinette. And if I can help, please let me know. I'd be happy to!  
\- Thanks so much! I might come back to that for the physics test, I am so scared of it! Have a good night!  
Please do ask me! Good night, Marinette!_

Marinette looked at her phone, feeling all giddy.  
"Earth to Marinette", Tikki said, waving her little hand in front of Marinette's face. "You should go to bed, Marinette, it is late!"  
"Yeah", Marinette smiled at her phone, "I probably should."

* * *

_Whhheeeeee, this story is taking on its own life and has decided that it needs a bit more than 10 chapters. I have them sketched out now, and for a fully worked out happy Christmas ending, we might need until somewhere around Chapter 18 :)_  
_Either way, next up is another nightly visit. Adrien decides that he has waited long enough to drop by Marinette's place again as Chat. And after that, we will have the mistle toe episode._


	9. Nighttime fitting

Plagg was leaning against a pile of books on Adrien's desk. He watched with a knowing grin as Adrien tried to finish his homework at lightning speed.  
"You want to head over there, again, kiddo? Second time this week!"  
"Do you mind, Plagg?"  
"Weeeeell", his kwami yawned, stretching himself. "You know the deal!"  
The deal was that Plagg got an extra piece of extra stinky Camembert after a nightly outing. It meant that Adrien's mini fridge would be smelling even more over the coming days, while the cheese was maturing. But Adrien was willing to endure that in return for a cozy night with Marinette.

He found her amidst green tulle on the floor of her bedroom. Her face was red and a little sweaty, and she was cursing under her breath.  
This was his third visit, and again Marinette did not ask what he wanted. She just let him in and treated him in her kind, welcoming way.  
"Whatever is this?" he asked, picking up one of the skirts.  
"Skirts. For little elves", Marinette said.  
"Cute!", he said. "What's the problem with them?"  
"The elastics", Marinette made a frustrated sound. "I have decided to redo them all to add elastics."  
"They didn't fit?"  
"Well", Marinette looked up, "They do fit most of the kids fine. But there are a few kids who are a bit bigger .. chubbier than the other kids. Or much smaller."  
"Why don't you adjust a few skirts for those kids?"  
"I could, but how would that make these kids feel? I don't want them to worry about their bodies not being standard format enough. I want this show to be an activity where the kids do not worry about that kind of stuff. Besides, we would have to make sure their skirts do not get mixed up with the rest and that would be an extra hassle for Madame Bustier.."  
"So you are changing _all_ the skirts to have elastic waists?"  
"Yep."  
This girl really had a heart of gold.  
"You are ..", he hesitated. "That is very kind of you, Marinette."  
"I know it's stupid", she said. "But I can do it, so I will."  
Adrien sat down on the chaise and did his best to come up with something interesting to tell her while she was working. It was surprisingly difficult to make simple conversation while making sure that he did not reveal his identity. It would have been so nice to just tell her about his day.  
"So, did you talk to the boy you like?", he asked. He wasn't sure if he wanted to hear the answer.  
Predictably, Marinette's cheeks turned pink.  
"A little bit, yesterday after school", she said.  
"But you did not tell him that you like him."  
"No", she admitted, "But for your information, I think that is not what I want to tell him first. I want to ask him to do something together. That feels a little less brutal than telling him that I like him, don't you think?"  
Adrien was quite sure that Luka wouldn't mind if Marinette was direct. He would probably be thrilled.  
She continued in an ironic voice. "Hi there, how are you, and by the way, I am head over heels in love with you."  
Oh! Marinette was _head over heels_ for this guy? Adrien noticed that his stomach did not like the thought.  
"Well… that is what I have told Ladybug.. repeatedly", he said, "Not that it worked."  
"Are you two ok?", Marinette had picked up on the defeated tone in his voice.  
He shrugged. "You know the story. Nothing has changed, for either of us."  
"You still love her?", she said softly.  
"Yes", he said simply.  
She sighed and nodded.  
"Though I am starting to think that she is right that we might function better if there are no romantic feelings involved… not that by rejecting me she somehow turned off my feelings, but.. well.. I guess if we were in a relationship, it would be even more difficult to focus during battle."  
Marinette looked very serious now and nodded.  
"So what is your plan to ask him out?" Adrien plopped down on the floor next to Marinette to change the subject. Spontaneously, he grabbed one of the skirts and put it upside down on her head. She looked like a crazy jungle queen, with the green tulle fabric standing up like a crown.  
"Hey!", she protested, but quickly recovered and picked up a different skirt to approach him. He made a weak attempt to keep her away from him, but when she crouched closer, he stilled.  
This close, Adrien could see freckles on her nose. And her fine, long lashes. As she leaned up to put the skirt on his head, the fabric of her crown tickled his chin before he found himself facing the pink flowers on her t-shirt, and he quickly turned his head to the side, blushing.  
Marinette was careful when she pulled the skirt over his cat ears. Then she leaned back to look at him and burst into a happy laughter.  
"Don't think you look any less ridiculous!", he said, but her laugh was infectious.  
They made silly faces at each other until Marinette got her polaroid camera and they took a selfie. Since it was an old-fashioned camera, it had no selfie function - they just had to try their best to point it into their direction. The first picture showed only the top of Marinette's head and him squinting down at her.  
After another round of laughter, they tried again and pressed their faces together for the second photo.  
"Priceless, this one goes onto my photo wall", Marinette said happily, when the image became visible. "Should we take another one for you?"  
Adrien wondered whether such a photo would violate any of their identity-protection rules. It probably would, but he also really wanted a picture with her.  
"Ah, sorry", Marinette got a little flustered when he did not respond, "You probably don't want a photo of me wearing a skirt on my head."  
"I do, actually", he said. "But I think it is not such a good idea for me to have a photo of Chat Noir in my room."  
Marinette looked shocked.  
"Of course, you are right!", she slapped her forehead. "And with a girl that you do not know, officially!"  
"Mhhhh", Adrien did not want to lie to her by confirming that he did not know her. He couldn't tell her the truth either, however. So instead he asked: "Would you perhaps show me that photo wall? I am curious about your friends!"  
"Sure", Marinette said. "Come on up!"  
Marinette climbed up the ladder to her bed, and Adrien followed behind her.  
He knew that she had once had the wall next to her bed plastered with his photos. She was a real fashion fanatic and liked his father's work. But now, he noticed, most of his photos were gone. Instead, there were lots of photos of Marinette with friends. He was in a few, but there were also many photos of outings that he had missed because of other obligations.  
How many chances had he missed to get to know Marinette as the interesting person that she apparently was?  
Marinette pinned their photo to the wall.  
"I guess that officially makes us friends", she said lightly.  
Adrien discovered that a person could indeed feel warm and fuzzy inside. Interesting - he had thought this was just a saying in books.  
"I am glad to know you, and honored to be your friend", he said sincerely. "What would the world be without.. friends."  
"I am happy to know you, too", Marinette gave him a stunning smile. She would have looked very charming if she hadn't had the jungle-crown-skirt on her head.  
He flicked against the fabric.  
"Are you close with your friends?" Marinette asked.  
"As close as I can be with my busy schedule", Adrien said, "I wish I had more time for them. But I am lucky to have some really nice and understanding people in my life." He smiled at her. She had no idea that she was one of them.  
"That is good", Marinette nodded satisfied. There was something in her reaction that he couldn't quite read, but she interrupted him quickly.  
"Alright, let's get back to work", Marinette pulled the skirt from her head, and some strands of hair loosened from her pigtails. Adrien observed how she pulled out the pigtails and went with her fingers through her loose hair. It fell across her shoulders in pretty, blue waves.  
He really wanted to touch her hair.  
What was happening here?  
"The boy you like, is he on here, too?", Adrien asked, looking at the photos.  
Marinette had already turned towards the ladder to continue her work downstairs. "Yeah, a few times. I am trying not to be too obsessive."  
Adrien looked at the photos.  
There were different guys in the pictures. Luka, him and Nino appeared most often, but there were also some other guys from their class and the theatre group.

* * *

_So excited about the next scene where someone puts up a mistle toe at Collège Françoise Dupont :)_


	10. The Mistletoe

Some clown had hung up a mistle toe at the third floor corridor of Francois Dupont high school, and now the younger kids were shoving and giggling around it, trying to push their friends under the mistle toe to force them to kiss. The older students were nonchalant about it and pretended to ignore the mistle toe, although Marinette suspected that some of the girls – notably Chloe and Lila - were paying even closer attention than usual to where Adrien was.  
After the chemistry lesson, Marinette found Nino and Alya in an embrace under the mistle toe.  
"Hey girl", Alya unwrapped herself from Nino and reached out to Marinette. She placed her arm around Marinette's shoulder, pulling her closer to them.  
When Alya pressed a kiss on her cheek, Marinette felt warm and grateful to have her sassy best friend in her life.  
"Yo, Marinette. You got your kiss from Alya alright. So if you don't mind, I'll stick to my own girl" Nino winked at her and Marinette and Alya snorted.  
"What's so funny, guys?", Adrien had left the classroom and was watching them.  
"Oh, we're just hanging out under the mistle toe!", Alya said with a gesture towards the ceiling. "Wanna join the party?"  
Adrien's face turned the color of Ladybug's suit and Marinette couldn't help a giggle.  
"That is not funny", he mumbled and leaned in to whisper, "I have been freaked out about this thing the whole day. I think there are some girls who will jump out the second I set a foot.."  
"Ooohh, there is Adrien under the mistle toe!", someone cried out from behind him.  
And indeed, a group of girls had materialized who looked as if they were about to tackle him.  
Adrien turned pale and gripped Marinette's arm.  
She looked at his hand. Was he seriously scared?  
She remembered Chat Noir's advice about keeping her cool. _Imagine you are Ladybug and in full control of the situation!_  
"Sorry girls", Marinette said with a firm voice. "You're too late. Adrien already got his kiss. I beat you to it."  
The girls' faces fell and grumbling amongst themselves, they quickly disappeared down the corridor.  
"So much about that", Alya said dryly.  
"Thanks, Marinette. Good thinking!" , Adrien dropped his hand from her arm. He smiled at her.  
"Anytime", she smiled back.  
He hesitated, his eyes still on her. Marinette looked back, mesmerized by his beautiful green.. What was happening?  
He was bending down towards her until their cheeks touched, barely.  
"May I?", he whispered into her ear.  
"Huh?"  
A featherlight touch on her cheek made her close her eyes automatically.  
"Just so you don't have to lie for me", he said, pulling back.  
Marinette opened her eyes to see Adrien smile warmly, his cheeks slightly pink.  
She blinked. Her own face was probably bright red.  
"I mean, we don't want to ruin your good standing with Santa Claus, right?"  
He winked before disappearing down the corridor.


	11. Showtime

If people weren't freaking out so much, the absurdity of the whole situation would actually make it funny, Marinette thought.  
It was the night of the big end-of-the-year show, half an hour before the show was supposed to start. Two kids had somehow managed to stumble over each other, straight into the cardboard forest stage prop, which now had a big, ugly hole in the middle.  
The teacher, who had bent down to help a kid, had torn open the back of her pencil skirt and was at the verge of tears.  
Marinette was trying her best to stitch the teacher's skirt back together – why did that woman have to wear such tight clothes?  
"You", Marinette stopped a girl next to her, "Get me the emergency costume, please!"  
Meanwhile she pinned her phone in between her ear and shoulder, praying that Alya would finally pick up.  
"What's up?", Alya responded on the second ring. "Sorry I missed your other calls, but they just opened the doors and we had to fight off some of those parents to get us decent seats!"  
"Alya, finally! We have a situation back here", Marinette said. "Could you try to get hold of a large pair of scissors or a knife for me and bring it to the backstage area?"  
"Er", Alya said, "Should I question your sanity, girl? They are only kids."  
Marinette rolled her eyes.  
"Please, Alya?"  
"On it!"  
She heard muffled sounds, as Alya was passing on Marinette's request before she came back on the phone.  
"Anything else you need? Maybe a first aid kit?"  
"Actually, yes!", Marinette said, eying a little elf with bruised knees.  
"You", Marinette pointed at the girl, "Stay where you are or you will get blood on your costume!"  
Marked silence on the other end of the receiver.  
"Alya? Don't get any wrong ideas, just bring me something that cuts through thick paper, please!", Marinette said and hung up.

"Someone get this first aid kit to the backstage area immediately!", Alya said. "Nino, the two of us are going to look for a sharp knife!"  
"On it!", Adrien took the kit from her and fought his way through the crowds of family members who were filling up the auditorium. "Save our seats, ok?" He yelled back at Rose and Juleka, as a determined looking group of parents was heading for their spots.  
When Adrien sprinted into the backstage area, he entered a big, colorful mess of running and shouting children, and right in the middle, was Marinette behind a very pale Madame Bustier. Marinette, in sharp contrast to everyone else, looked surprisingly calm and in control.  
Adrien leaned against the door and watched her.  
It was fascinating to see Marinette in her element. She was tearing apart something that looked like it had previously been one of the elf costumes. Her face was a little sweaty, and she used her arm to brush her bangs out of her face.  
"Madame", Marinette said, "I cannot repair your skirt in a way that does not show, but I will adjust your skirt so that it will look like you adopted it to the forest theme on purpose."  
Without waiting for a response, Marinette started draping the fabric around the teacher's waist, checking the result critically. With a few cuts and stitches, she turned the green fabric into a surprisingly flattering – something.  
"That is pretty!", the teacher said surprised. "And the tear in the fabric really doesn't show?" She was twisting to look at her behind.  
"Nothing visible", Marinette assured her.  
"You are a life saver, Marinette", the teacher said gratefully. Then she clapped her hands to collect herself. "Now let's clean up the rest of this mess!"  
"I think I also have an idea for the stage props", Marinette said, "But perhaps you could get the elves together and have them practice their song one last time?", Marinette said. "That might calm them down and get them out of our feet. Oh, but not Jeanne, she has a bruised knee, I think it would be good if someone.."  
"Emergency kit coming up!", Adrien decided that this was his cue. "Who is hurt?"  
"That would be Jeanne", Marinette said and pointed at a younger girl, who was giggling at him shyly. "Thanks so much, Adrien. Could you help her?"  
Adrien sat the girl down and checked her knee. It was only a scratch.  
Meanwhile, the teacher was ushering the kids into the back of the room.  
"I think you need a plaster!", Adrien said to the girl. "Do you need help putting it on?"  
"Oh yeeees", the girl said, batting her eyelashes at him.  
Marinette snickered.  
"Marinette, there is a pair of scissors in here", Adrien noted while he was searching through the kit to find a plaster small enough for the girl's scratch. "You were looking for one, right?"  
"Oh, yes, perfect!", Marinette took the scissors. "Thanks so much! I don't want to ruin my sewing scissors by trying to cut these!"  
She pointed at the forest stage prop, which looked like somebody had tried to destroy it by smashing a big hole in it.  
Marinette climbed onto a chair and stretched to cut the upper parts of the stage prop. Adrien was reminded of the other week when he had seen her with Luka.  
He hurried to send Jeanne off with a plaster, so he could get up to hold Marinette's chair. Should he place his hand on her back? Knowing her occasional clumsiness, he was watching her closely, ready to catch her if she should fall.  
"I just can't cut through this last part", she said through gritted teeth. "And now the stupid scissors are stuck. Could you help me?"  
Adrien climbed onto the chair with her to take over the scissors.  
It was a normal chair. There was not a lot of space on a chair for two people.  
For a moment they were standing very close to each other, staring wordlessly into each others eyes. He held on to her arms to maneuver around her. She really had pretty freckles on her nose. And she looked at him with those astonishing blue eyes, quite like Ladybug's eyes.  
Adrien shook his head. He had to stop comparing all girls to Ladybug. Marinette was not Ladybug, but she was beautiful in her own way. And she was a lot .. closer.  
Marinette jumped down and instructed him how to cut through the cardboard. It was difficult, but he would have chewed through the paper before admitting that he couldn't do it. What was all his super hero exercise good for, after all?  
Eventually Adrien managed to finish the cuts under Marinette's instruction.  
When he jumped back down, he realized that Marinette had found a clever way to cut around the hole in the prop to create two fitting trees. The result was rather pretty and convincing. The only problem was – the props did not stand upright on their own anymore and needed to be backed up to stay in place.

Of course Adrien offered to help and so he and Marinette found themselves close to each other on stage, hidden from the audience's view by two gigantic paper trees.  
"I'm really sorry that you're missing the show because of this", Marinette whispered, "Next time we will at least make some little holes into the stage props so that we can watch what is going on."  
Adrien's heart made a little jump at the idea of a "next time".  
"Don't worry, Marinette", he said. "It is more important to me to be with my friends than to see the show. I am happy to help you out!"  
"That is good to hear, Adrien."  
"And to be honest, I was a little worried that my father might find out that I sneaked out to be here. But now I have the perfect spot to hide while still experiencing the show with you!"  
Marinette smiled.  
"Hidden in plain sight."  
They kept their position, listening in on the acts on stage, occasionally exchanging glances.  
"Sound is not too bad", Adrien joked as the choir was up with a very energetic performance of "Jingle Bells".  
The audience saw the left tree on stage shake a little as Marinette giggled. When she moved, her hair gently brushed against his arm, and the upper part of her tree started to sway.  
"Oh no", she tried to reach up to stabilize it, but the props were big and she had to stretch.  
"Let's switch, I can do the upper parts because I'm taller than you!", Adrien said, and reached around her.  
Marinette agreed gratefully and shifted so she could take the lower parts of the prop, and they ended up in an almost embrace, where Adrien reached around her to hold the cardboard prop up.  
They were so close to each other now that he could smell her hair – a mix of fresh winter air and macarons. If he leaned forward just a little bit, he could easily bury his nose in her hair..  
Adrien did not lean forward. He stayed very still, just like Marinette, while his arms began to burn from holding them up.  
When the elves came up, it was sad of course that Marinette was stuck behind the trees. They only occasionally saw a swift of green tulle running past them.  
"I'm really sorry you're missing the show", Adrien whispered close to Marinette's ear.  
"Maybe someone is recording it. I .. we … could watch it together later", Marinette turned her face to look at him, but quickly looked away again when she realized they were so close that their noses were almost touching.  
"Good plan!", Adrien said.  
"Um, Adrien, there is something that I have wanted to ask you", Marinette whispered, clearing her throat.  
"Yes, Marinette?"  
"Do you maybe.. I mean, would you maybe.."  
Applause from the audience made it hard to hear her.  
"I want to give a special thanks to a student who has helped us a lot behind the scenes to make this act possible", Madame Bustier's said loudly, over more applause and cheers from the audience, "Marinette, could you come out for a moment?"  
"Oh no", Marinette's face turned pale.  
"You can do this", Adrien said, "You deserve it!"  
He somehow managed to keep the prop stable, as Marinette stepped out next to it, still holding it up with one hand, blinking into the spotlight.  
"Marinette not only sew all of these fabulous costumes.."  
Someone from the audience was whistling – Adrien suspected Alya – "But she also found a last-minute solution for the broken stage props. Please give her a very warm applause!"  
The audience clapped with some notable "whoop whoops" that probably came from their group of friends, and then it was announced that the trees had done enough for the day, and Adrien and Marinette were allowed to shove them off the stage under further applause.

The members of Kitty section were waiting for them in the backstage area. Adrien shook his arm – the cardboard prop had been surprisingly heavy to hold up after a while. Marinette had to be in good shape to get through this without complaining.  
She wasn't much of a complainer though, was she?  
He noticed that she was shaking and stretching her arm, too, but before he could say something, Luka carefully took her arm. "Are you ok, Mari?"  
Mari_nette – wasn't it annoying how that boy never used her full name?  
_"Yeah yeah. I'm good", she said, retreating her arm. She looked around at the rest of them. "How was the show?"  
"The elves were fantastic", Luka said.  
"They were so cute!", Rose said, "It is break time now, and then we are up in 15." _  
_"Ok then", Marinette looked around, "I will let you get to it and find my spot in the front row. Good luck!"  
She hugged them in turn, Rose, Juleka, Luka – who lifted her up of her feet - before she turned towards Adrien, her cheeks flushed pink, probably from the interaction with Luka.  
Adrien was doing his best not to fume about the way Luka had hugged Marinette. Marinette was a good friend of his, so it was natural that he felt a little protective of her. He cared that she was well. He just had to work on that feeling that he wanted to punch any guy who touched her. Especially Luka.  
"Is your arm ok? I should have remembered that you need your hands and arms for playing in the band before asking you to stand out there with me for an hour holding up that heavy thing!", Marinette apologized.  
He held out his hands. "It was my pleasure. And look, my hands are fine, see?"  
Marinette hesitated, then she took his outstretched hands and gave them a quick squeeze, before hurrying out of the backstage area.  
Well, it was no hug, but it was something.

Kitty section were the last act of the night, and it was a fabulous gig. Afterwards, students rushed towards them to ask for autographs and photos. Adrien, who had more experience with this kind of interaction than the others, was only half paying attention. He found himself looking for Marinette until he spotted her in the back of the crowd. Their eyes met, and if Adrien was not mistaken – she was standing at the other end of the room and he could not rely on his cat sight after all - her cheeks turned a familiar pink.  
So Luka was not the only one who could get that reaction from Marinette, he thought. Go figure.

* * *

_So, this was a long one, but these two are fun to write about. Also, I finally figured out the gift that Chat Noir will give to Marinette. It is going to be epic :D What do you think Marinette will give to Chat Noir?  
But there are a few nights left before Christmas and she has some crafting left to do first... :)_

___PS: Did you know that you can leave a review without logging in, if you are like me and always forget your password? Just saying :)___


	12. Rooftop nights

Marinette loved Christmas preparations - but apparently not everyone did. There were plenty of Akuma attacks these days, and almost always with a holiday theme.

She was sitting on a rooftop with Chat Noir. They had just defeated a particularly pathetic akuma of a guy who was burning Christmas decorations out of resentment for not having friends to celebrate with. It hadn't taken much of a fight, so there was some time left until they would transform back.  
She wanted to use the chance to check if Chat Noir was doing better.  
"It is sad to see so many people unhappy", she began.  
"Well, this season is like a constant reminder of what one is missing", Chat Noir said.  
"To people who are lonely", he added, a fraction too late.  
She watched as he looked thoughtfully out across the Parisian rooftops.  
"What about your Christmas?", she asked. "Are you ok? Do you have plans?"  
He shrugged. "I will be home with my family. There might be.. dinner."  
"I wish I could invite you to my place", Marinette blurted out. Then she immediately regretted what she said. There was no way Chat Noir could spend Christmas with Ladybug!  
"I'm sorry", she added, "I shouldn't have said that."  
"I wouldn't mind spending Christmas out here with you, Ladybug. But I have a feeling that you are looking forward to the holidays with your family and I would never want to keep you away from your loved ones."  
"No..", she said quietly. "You wouldn't."  
They sat in silence for a moment.  
"It is just a couple of December nights. I'll be ok. And anyway, I might.." He paused, then jumped up.  
"The secret identity makes things so complicated", he said, with uncharacteristic annoyance in his voice. "Do you ever struggle with that?"  
_Where did that come from?  
_"Sometimes", she answered honestly. "I don't like when I have to lie to cover my tracks."  
"Exactly! The lies are worst. Usually I can handle keeping this from people. I know it is important. But there is this girl.. I... I was just thinking that I might drop by her place on Christmas Eve. I have gotten to know her a bit as Chat Noir - it is so nice to hang out with her. So uncomplicated. I think we are becoming good friends."  
_Oops, was he talking about her?  
_It gave Marinette a warm and happy feeling that he enjoyed her company so much.  
"But see, I also know her outside the mask. So.. it feels like I am kind of cheating, or like I need to choose which side of me can be her friend..."  
_What? Had he just accidentally revealed to her that he knew Marinette outside the mask?  
Or was there another girl that he visited and that she did not know about?_  
Marinette felt an unexpected pang of jealousy.  
"Please be careful with what you're telling me about your civilian self", she reminded him, also getting up. "Even though I am happy to hear that you found a new friend, you should not tell me more about her."  
Chat Noir looked caught, but then apparently decided that his need to talk was bigger than his worries about hiding their identities.  
"It is easier for me to be with her when I am Chat Noir, you know. For logistical reasons", he said, "But what if we grow closer. I would not want to keep from her that I am in her life twice. And even if I tried - how am I supposed to act around her, do I pretend like I don't know things my other self knows…"  
His ring beeped.  
"Mhh", Marinette said, "And it could be very dangerous if word gets out to Hawkmoth that she is a close friend of Chat Noir. Maybe you should not expose someone to that risk. It would be safer to befriend her outside the mask."  
Her earrings beeped.  
"Time to take off soon", he said, cocking his head to the side. "Ladybug.. Would you be ok if there was.. someone else for me?"  
_Wait, what? Did Chat Noir like_ _Marinette now? Was he considering _dating_ her?  
Oooh, no no no no no! Where did that come from?  
Or was he talking about someone else?  
_Marinette reached out to take his hand.  
"Chat", she tried to keep her voice calm, "Of course I would be ok with that. But please, please be careful with your heart! I don't want you to get hurt… again."  
He visibly pulled himself together before giving her hand a little squeeze. "I know, and I did not ask because of this specific girl, I know she likes someone else."  
_Oh, good! He was right about that. She did like someone else! Well, assuming he was talking about her._  
Shoot! He had said something else and she had missed it.  
Chat gave her an adorably crooked smile. "But she made me realize that I am comparing everyone to you. I think I need to let go of that. Let go of you, in a way."  
"That.. does.. sound reasonable", she managed to say. "And since we're having this conversation, Chat, I think you are already making the first step."  
He sighed and bent forward to kiss her on the cheek.  
"Maybe I am. Thank you, Ladybug", he whispered.  
She watched him swing away, but remained on the roof a little longer.  
_Poor kitty. So lonely at home that he was thinking about visiting her on Christmas Eve.  
_She would put in some extra time to make his present even more special than she had planned. Hopefully it would cheer him up.

Then she remembered tonight's other piece of information._  
Chat Noir may have told her that he knew Marinette well outside the mask.  
_That was dangerous information that she should not be thinking about. She should ignore it, forget about it quickly. Surely there were other girls that he was visiting at night and he had not been talking about her.  
Though, what if he had?  
Maybe he was a student at her school after all?  
She remembered the kwamibuster incident with one of her teachers. Chat Noir had asked her if Francois Dupont was an elementary school, so she had concluded that he couldn't be one of her classmates…  
Except.. if that had been a trick.  
_No no no no no no no nononono, enough, she had to stop thinking about this possibility!  
_  
o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o  
_No worries, Chat and Adrien will find a solution to the Marinette question. Next up: Tomorrow, the gift exchange is up :)_


	13. Exchanging glances (and gifts)

"Chat Noir!", Marinette greeted him with a big smile. "I was hoping you would come by, I have a surprise for you!"  
She watched a number of emotions quickly hush over his face under the mask. Starting with surprise, delight and – sadness?  
"Of course I came", he said, "I want to hear all about your big show. When was it, yesterday?"  
"Tuesday", Marinette felt her cheeks grow warm. "It went well! I can tell you later! Now I need you to sit down!"  
Chat Noir let her direct him to the chaise and she swept around the room to turn off the main lights and turn on more fairy lights, before picking up his gifts from the pile in the corner. She was trying to create an especially cozy atmosphere for the occasion.  
"There you are", she handed him the first gift. "Open it!"  
She was so curious what he would think of it, she found herself bouncing in her seat.  
Chat Noir used a claw to open the gift and curiously inspected the thick notebook that she had given him. It was a standard notebook with a cover of neutral black fake leather, and Marinette complimented herself on how unremarkable it was on the outside. Just like she had planned.  
"Open it!", she squealed, clapping her hands excitedly, bouncing on her seat.  
Chat opened the book and made a little "oh" as he saw the inside of the cover, which Marinette had elaborately decorated with colorful drawings of him and Ladybug.  
"Beautiful", he muttered, while turning the pages filled with drawings, quotes, and empty rectangles, which Marinette had put in as placeholders for photos. The quotes were cat puns ("pawsome day", "meauw best friends", "a purr-fect night" – she had decided to get over herself and play along with his liking for cheesy lines), and the drawings were cartoon-like sketches of Paris, of groups of friends, and of Chat Noir and Ladybug. Chat moved his fingers over the sketches and looked at her as if he couldn't believe the book was for him.

Adrien was amazed by how much time and thinking Marinette had put into this gift.  
"I didn't want to make it too obviously about you and Ladybug", Marinette explained, "So I put in drawings of civilians, too. I, well, I may have been inspired a little bit by my friends but I figured that you might recognize traits of your own friends in them perhaps."  
She had drawn the civilians mostly as shades, so their faces were not visible. But she had clearly taken inspiration from their own group of friends. Adrien smiled at the tall, lanky figure with headphones – Nino?, next to a girl with wild curly hair making a victory sign with her hand – Alya? There was also a girl with pigtails – cartoon Marinette? - who was leaning against a guy who had his arm around her waist. Then there was a girl with lots of long hair, and a taller guy with guitar...  
_Wait – was that Luka with his guitar? Then who was the guy with his arm around Marinette?  
_He marveled at the drawing, but Marinette was clearly waiting for him to turn the page.  
He made a mental note to get back to this.  
The next page had a lovely drawing of Chat Noir and Ladybug on a rooftop, overlooking a sky that was shaded in pink and orange. "Purrr-etty views" it read. He chuckled.  
"Your puns are getting better!"  
"That is the first thing you say?", Marinette said in mocked offense.  
He took a deep breath and looked at her, ready to pay her the compliment she deserved.  
But she was grinning at him.  
"Gotcha", she smiled. "You don't have to say anything."  
She handed him another gift. "This one.. well, it is not really a gift, it is more .. er.. borrowed", she said apologetically. "But it goes with the book."  
When he opened it, he found her little polaroid camera.  
"I couldn't get you a new camera, but you can borrow mine for the next weeks", she explained quickly. "I thought that you might want to take some photos with your friends that you can then put into the book. You know, to collect memories of the nice people in your life. And.. if you feel alone later or .. well, then you can look at the book."  
She smiled warmly at him.  
_What an incredibly sweet gift!_  
"Awesome!", he smiled. "I mean, pawsome. Thank you, Marinette. This is the most wonderful and thoughtful Christmas gift that I have ever received."  
He looked at the camera. "But I actually have a camera like that already – in the same color even, ladybug-red. So you don't have to give me yours!" _Mental note to buy a polaroid camera in any color but red, so he could start taking photos as Adrien to fill the book..  
_He switched on the camera and moved closer to her.  
"Let's take a photo now!"  
"No, wait!", she said. "It would be weird to have a photo of us in there together when the other photos show you as your civilian self! In case you ever want to show the book to your friends."  
"You thought about this a lot, didn't you?"  
"Of course. I also tried to make the book look unsuspicious from the outside, so in the very unlikely case that I am ever in your room and see it, it will hopefully not catch my attention. I did that to protect your identity! Otherwise I would have really liked to give it a special bookmark and more color on the outside but I avoided all that."  
Adrien quite liked the idea of Marinette in his room, but he tried not to dwell on the idea.  
"So thoughtful", he said, "Alright, some other time then."  
"Hm?"  
"Never mind!", he said. "Marinette, thank you so much!"  
He gave her a careful hug. It started shy, but she hugged him back fearlessly and it turned into a full-on melt-into-each-other hug. Adrien hadn't been hugged like this in a long while, and with all the twinkling lights surrounding them, he felt like she had transported them straight into the happy ending of a Disney movie.  
Well, the ending, minus the kiss. But he could work on that.  
_Wait, what?_

It was a perfect hug - not too tight, not too superficial, trusting, and not too...  
Chat Noir softly pushed her away from him, smiling. He handed her an off-white, elegant envelope that had the name "Marinette" handwritten on it.  
"Merry Christmas, Marinete."  
She looked at the envelope curiously.  
"You also prepared a gift for me?"  
"Of course. I wanted to do something special for the Christmas fairy."  
_Oh! How nice of him._  
Maybe she had underestimated her partner. Amongst all the superficial flirting, she hadn't learned very much about the boy under the mask.  
"Shall I open it right away?", Marinette asked.  
"Well, you don't haaaaave to", he said. "You could also fold it into a little boat or put it under your plants but…"  
At her rolling eyes he finished: "I would recommend you open it."  
She carefully opened the exquisite envelope and took out the card inside. Like the envelope, the card was made of the kind of fine, handcrafted paper that was sold only in exclusive papeteries. The card read "A private tour has been arranged for you through a place of (your) dreams. Be ready for pickup on Saturday, at 9:30."  
_Mysterious much?,_ she thought. Her heart made an excited jump, however.  
"This Saturday?", she asked.  
"Yes", he said. "I hope you can make it? I am sorry but the timing was a little tricky to arrange!"  
"That is fine", she would just have to sleep a little less to finish the rest of her presents in the evening. But she did not want to turn him down. "Do I need to bring anything?"  
"Not really", Chat Noir said, "Be prepared to walk a bit, though."  
Oh no, he wasn't planning to do something sporty with her? Like a hike in the mountains? Marinette got all the exercise she needed when rushing through town as Ladybug.  
Chat Noir read her reaction.  
"No worries. No sports clothes needed", he laughed.  
She smiled at him. So he had figured out that she wasn't the athletic type.  
"But… it might be nice if you wear one of your original designs, if you feel like it. You don't have to dress up but maybe.. err.. I think you would enjoy it more if you dress in something that makes you feel confident."  
"You are being very cryptic about this!", Marinette said.  
"Part of the fun", he said and winked at her.  
"And now", he got up and looked at her with a serious expression, "I have to go."  
"Oh, already?", Marinette didn't bother to hide her disappointment.  
"Ah", he said, gently tipping a finger on her nose, "Hero duties. Don't miss me too much!"  
He winked, and then he was gone.


	14. Guided tour de la Maison

_Merry Christmas, everyone! For your enjoyment, an extra long chapter today._

* * *

__Chat's instructions hadn't exactly helped Marinette decide what to wear. After some fussing around in front of her closet she had decided on her standard outfit, replacing her normal jacket with a blazer that made her look a little more grown-up but still felt like herself. Wrapped also in her green wintercoat and fitting scarf, she was standing on her rooftop balcony and enjoying the winter sun, feeling a bit silly as she was looking out across the roofs, waiting for Chat Noir to appear and whisk her away.  
"Ma-ri-nette", she heard her mother call out to her in an exasperated voice. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng!"  
Marinette turned towards the trapdoor, through which her mothers face appeared.  
"So that is why you didn't hear me", her mum said, panting a little. "Marinette, there is a visitor for you. What are you doing out here?"  
_Had the crazy cat taken the front door this time?  
_But the boy that appeared behind her mother was … Adrien!  
Marinette did a little double-take.  
"A.. Adrien!", she stammered. "What are _you _doing here? Erm.. I mean, good morning", she managed to smile at him.  
He climbed out and looked a little nervous.  
"Hey, Marinette. I am here to pick you up for the.. er.. thing."  
What was he talking about?  
"That, erm, Christmas thing at school", he scratched his neck in a nervous gesture, looking over at Marinette's mum. "Your Friend … Ken Black… asked me to pick you up."  
"I'll leave you two", Marinette's mother said cheerfully, ignoring his stammering. "Drop by the bakery on the way out if you like some croissants."  
They both watched her disappear down the stairs.  
"Ken Black", Marinette said, enunciating every syllable and suppressing a grin.  
"I er.. had to improvise a little", Adrien said with red ears.  
"So he is who I think he is?", Marinette was so stunned by the situation that her nerves hadn't picked up yet on the fact that she was alone on the roof, with Adrien.  
"Kind of dark guy?", Adrien offered.  
She chuckled. "Kind of a cat person, weird sense of humour?"  
"Yes, him", Adrien smiled. "He asked me to meet you today. I'm guessing this is a surprise for you?"  
"Yes", Marinette said, "And I have no clue what we'll be doing, either."  
"Oh", Adrien smiled. "I see. Well, I hope it will be a good surprise."  
"I am very curious", she said. Inwardly, she was doing a little dance. Chat Noir had gotten her a chance to spend time with Adrien! Alone! And she had washed her hair and was not in her pajamas!  
"Well, would you like a croissant, Adrien?"  
"Oh..", Adrien looked embarrassed. "I'd love one but my driver will report straight back to my dad if he sees me eat it."  
"Well, do we have to leave right away?"  
Now he was full-on smiling.  
"I guess not!"

Adrien was chewing on the third mini croissant, watching Marinette as she leaned against the railing, holding her face into the winter sun. She was wearing cute ear warmers, and the wind was whirling through her signature pigtails. She looked stunningly peaceful.  
He felt light and happy at the sight.  
Light enough to pick another croissant from the bag of mini viennoiseries that Marinette's mum had given them.  
"Lovely", he said quietly.  
She snapped out of her daydreaming and turned towards him.  
"Yes, the weather is lovely today", she agreed.  
"That, too", he mumbled under his breath.

o-o-o-o-o

Chat Noir's surprise was a freaking tour of the Agreste design department! THE AGRESTE DESIGN DEPARTMENT!  
With Adrien, on top of that.  
Marinette was on cloud 9. Ah no, she was on cloud 20.  
They had already spent a full two hours touring the different rooms, where the tour had probably been planned for less than an hour. But Marinette found everything so fascinating, and when she had overcome her initial shyness and started to fire questions at the employees about the materials they used and their sources of inspiration when coming up with a new line, they had opened up to her and shown her more and more. It probably helped that they all obviously adored Adrien, but Marinette liked to think that she hadn't made a complete fool of herself either.

The best thing, however, had happened in the end. When they entered the last atelier, a tall lady was taking a model's measures and dictating them to a girl standing next to him.  
"Marinette, this is Mariella Monfont, one of our chief designers", Adrien said, "And you have met her assistant Molly when we were in the collection room."  
The two of them looked up and nodded at her.  
"She always insists on checking new model's measurements herself", Adrien whispered.  
"Adrien, I heard you would be coming in with your friend", Mariella nodded at them.  
"Marinette, have you seen how we take a model's measures?", Molly smiled warmly at her.  
"No, I haven't", Marinette said. The tailor made a gesture for her to approach.  
When Marinette came closer, she realized that the tall model who was standing in front of Mariella Monfont was not much older than her and Adrien. He was tall, muscular, and had light bronze skin.  
"Hello", Marinette said shyly.  
If Marinette's heart wasn't for one hundred percent focused on Adrien, she might have responded to the guy's flirty wink and wide smile, but as it was, she just focused on Mariella's quick, skillful work.  
Adrien appeared to her right and lightly placed his hand on her back.  
"You must be new", he said to the other boy, reaching out to shake the boy's hand, "I am Adrien Agreste. This is .. Marinette Dupain-Chang."  
The boy nodded eagerly.  
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Monsieur Agreste. My name is Gerard Bleu."  
"Gerard might be joining the chimney campaign", Molly explained.  
"Unless the flue keeps knocking out our design team and we have to cancel it", Mariella said dryly.  
Gerard made a face as if he was sulking, looking at Marinette.  
She hardly registered it because Adrien's hand on her back had moved a little bit.  
_Adrien had her hand on her back! _  
_She was in the AGRESTE DESIGN DEPARTMENT and ADRIEN was TOUCHING her back.  
_Well, her blazer, but she thought that she still felt a little bit of his body heat through the various layers of clothes.  
"Is Maya still sick?", Adrien asked.  
"Yes, her, and Tania", Molly said.  
They watched in silence as Mariella quickly took various measures around Gerard's legs.  
"Are you a model, too?", he asked, looking at Marinette.  
What an odd moment to make conversation with her, she thought… Then she registered what his question had been and she cringed.  
"Eh, me? Eh, no, me.. eh", she stammered. Gerard was making her self-conscious, where she had felt so in her element the past hours, even – or especially – in Adrien's company. "I.. I.. could never.. I mean, I obviously don't have the.. eh.."  
"Marinette is a designer", Adrien interrupted.  
He looked at Gerard when he said: "She might have the looks to be a model, but she is way too talented to be in front of the camera."  
Marinette looked at him with open mouth for an embarrassingly long three seconds before pulling herself together.  
Mariella, Maya, and Gerard looked at Adrien curiously. Gerard had turned a bit pale and obviously decided it was better not to talk anymore.  
"She made that hat for father's competition?", Adrien said to Mariella, "Maybe you remember.."  
"Ah, yes, you mentioned that", Mariella said thoughtfully. "You know, if you're serious about this, Marinette, maybe during your next school vacations, you could come for a few days and assist one of our interns. You might learn some things."  
"Oh that would be fantastic", Marinette said, "I'd be happy to do whatever is needed."  
"Well, we cannot have you touch any of the actual fashion", Mariella said, "But we do have interns – graduates who just finished their studies in fashion. One of them might be interested to take you under their wings. Send your resumé to Molly and I'll see what we can do."  
With that, she turned towards Gerard again and gestured for him to stretch out his arm.  
Adrien checked his watch. "Shall we go?", he asked.  
"Of course", Marinette said quickly.  
When they stepped into the hallway, she let out a little squeal.  
She was so excited by Mariella's offer to do job shadowing at the design department that it took her a moment to realize that as part of her happy dance, she had apparently thrown herself at Adrien and was hugging him tightly.  
Even more interesting, however, was that he hugged her back and turned around with her on the spot, her legs flying through the air.  
When he put her back onto her feet, she made: "Oops" and hesitantly removed her arms from his chest.  
Adrien laughed. It was one of his much too rare, true laughs, and Marinette loved to see him so relaxed and happy.  
He placed his hands on the side of her arms.  
"I'm glad to see you're enjoying your time here, Marinette", he said, smiling at her warmly.  
"Eh… thank… erm.. thank you, Ad.. Adrien, for all .. this of.. all of this."  
_Ok, she could have said this better, but it was fine. She had managed quite alright so far. Gotten through the day quite fine. It was ok to stammer a little bit now, given that his hands were still on her arms, and he was looking at her with that soft, soft, gorgeous smile and.. his thumb was moving across her arm, making it feel almost like a caress…  
_Marinette stared at Adrien.  
Adrien stared back.

And then the door to the atelier flew open and Molly came rushing out, only to suddenly freeze in place in what looked like an akward modelling posture.  
In spite of everything, it took Marinette a mere second to realize that they were facing an Akuma attack!

* * *

_Merry Christmas, you all! This is as far as I got while family is going crazy over our actual Christmas preparations.  
_


	15. Hide and Peak

_AN: Sorry for the break! After the holidays, things got very busy for me for a while.  
__Let's pick up where we left: Marinette just heard that she might get a chance to intern at the Agreste design department, and in her immense joy, she flew straight into Adrien's arms. He just put her back down on her feet._

* * *

**Megamodel**

Marinette was looking at him with her big, blue eyes and she looked... stunned?  
Their eyes were locked, and Adrien was unable to remove his hands from her arms or his eyes from her face, concentrating hard to keep himself from pulling her closer.  
_  
_And then the door to the atelier flew open and Molly came rushing out, yelling at them.  
"Get to securi…", she managed to say before she was frozen in space in a running motion.  
An Akuma attack!  
Adrien woke up from his Marinette-induced daze and grabbed her hand, pulling her down the corridor.  
He had to transform quickly.  
No, he had to take her to a safe place, then transform and fight the Akuma.  
Transform, fight, and then get back to the hand-holding.  
"In here", he half pushed her into the room, which was part of the storage area where their most exclusive garments were archived.  
"You think you can hide in here while I inform security?", he asked, already pulling Marinette further into the room towards a big closet.  
He would just leave her long enough to transform, and then get right back to take her away to safety.  
Marinette frowned.  
"What do you mean, inform security? Where are you planning to go?"  
"Er", Adrien looked around, looking for an answer.  
"I don't think you should be out there", she continued with a determined voice, "We should hide and let Ladybug and Chat Noir handle the Akuma."  
Marinette looked around and pointed at two closets, "Why don't you take the big closet there, and I will hide in the one over there!"  
She was already shoving him towards the closet. When he opened the door, he saw racks full of puffy ball gowns. Father would be furious if anything got damaged, but arinette's safety was all that mattered now.  
"Why don't _you_ go in here", Adrien wiggled out of Marinette's hold to instead shove her forward. "You are smaller, and you might enjoy the dresses. I'll take the next one."  
Marinette gave him an exasperated look, but she moved the delicate dresses to the side and slipped into the closet. He saw that she watched him through the half open door of her hiding place, as he stepped into his own closet further down the line. It was full of clothing bags. He gave her a thumbs up before closing his door, hoping she would do the same and stay inside long enough for Chat Noir to be able to arrive and rescue her.

Inside her closet, Marinette opened her handbag.  
"Tikkie, spots –", she whispered, but her Kwami shot forward to interrupt her.  
"Wait, Marinette", Tikkie said. "Let me check first if Adrien is still in his closet. You don't want him to see Ladybug come out of the closet that Marinette stepped into just a minute before, do you?"  
"He better stay in there", Marinette muttered, "How am I supposed to concentrate when Adrien is close to the battle.. Ok, you're right. Thank you, Tikkie, please go and check!"  
Tikkie flew to the top of the closet before zooming through the wooden planks into the room, hopefully out of vision if someone was in the room. She arrived right on time to see Chat Noir step out of Adrien's closet. Of course Plagg hadn't bothered to warn the boy. She would tell that careless cat something.  
Tikkie remained in the shadow and observed how Chat Noir turned towards Marinette's hiding place, hesitating. He was obviously torn between rescuing her and fighting the Akuma.  
Tikkie's heart swoll with affection for the dear boy.  
When a loud noise and screams came from the building, Chat Noir turned around and ran towards the door. She followed him into the hallway and watched him disappear towards the screams.  
Then Tikkie returned to Marinette.  
"It's safe", Tikkie whispered, "I followed him outside, he is far enough away."  
"What?", Marinette said, "Adrien left?"  
Tikkie blinked.  
"Er, I mean, he must be trying to alert security", Tikkie improvised, "He was running away from the battle noise. Now quick, transform, I think I saw Chat Noir already."

Ladybug and Chat Noir defeated Megamodel in record time. Gérard, the embarrassed model who had flirted with Marinette before Adrien had put him in his place (Marinette still blushed when thinking of that), apologized several times, before running off.  
"Well done, Kitty", Marinette turned to Chat Noir, "How come you arrived so quickly? Were you close by?"  
"Er", Chat Noir touched his neck in a familiar nervous gesture.  
_Had he been close by to watch how her tour with Adrien went? She couldn't resist teasing him a little bit.  
_"Well, you weren't late either", Chat Noir countered and bopped her nose with his finger.  
_Oops, that was true and also a good reason to change topics._  
On cue, her earring beeped once.  
"I have to go", she said.  
"Me too", Chat Noir said. They both turned in place, looking around unsure. Then he walked towards the closest window and opened it with a polite gesture.  
"After you?", Chat Noir said.  
"Actually", Marinette tried, "I think I'd prefer a different exit, if you don't mind."  
He looked surprised, but agreed readily.  
"You know what", he said, "I'm actually headed North, too. I'll also take a different exit."  
"Ah, South", she said, shrugging. She had no idea where South actually was but she was determined to walk in the opposite direction of him to sneak away and transform back, or at least to check on Adrien and tell him some story about taking Marinette to safety.  
She sighed. It had been such a nice day!

It turned out that the corridors of the elegant, shiny building all looked quite similar. Luckily, they were at least empty – it seemed as if people had hidden very quickly as soon as they heard off the Akuma and hadn't yet reappeared.  
Marinette was considering to slip into one of the dark, quiet offices to transform back, but running foot steps interrupted her thoughts.  
"Ladybug!", Adrien said slightly out of breath when he came around the corner.  
"Hi Adrien", Marinette said. "I was just.. looking for you. Marinette told me to find you because you disappeared from the storage area where you guys were hiding."  
"Oh, you have seen Marinette?", he was quite agitated. "She is gone, I cannot find her."  
"Yes, I took her outside", Marinette improvised, "Given that the akumatization was partly about her, that seemed the safest solution."  
"Oh", Adrien said, checking his phone. "She didn't tell me. I'll call her."  
"I'm sure she will be in touch as soon as possible", Marinette said, placing her hand reassuringly on Adrien's shoulder.

* * *

That night, while Marinette waited for Chat Noir on her balcony, she went over the events of the day. She was still confused why Adrien had left her in the storage area.  
"Hey little one", Chat Noir landed beside her. "How are you?"  
Marinette spontaneously hugged him. Chat seemed startled at first, but he quickly recovered and hugged her back. She pressed a kiss on his cheek.  
"Does this mean you liked the present?", he asked, cupping her shoulders affectionately with his hands.  
"I _loved_ the present", she said. "So much!"  
Chat smiled warmly.  
"Who would have thought, with it ending in an akuma attack and all."  
He leaned casually against the balcony rail.  
"Well, it's Paris", Marinette shrugged. "Up to that moment, it was fantastic."  
"Want to tell me all about it?"  
"Sure", she said, "Should I get you hot chocolate?"  
He laughed. "No, I'm ok actually. Just dying to hear how it went. Did Adrien behave himself?"  
Marinette smiled even wider.  
"He did… He was so kind! And he really knows the place well."  
She fiddled with her hands.  
"But, Chat, I wondered.." She looked up at him. "I never told you about Adrien. How did you figure it out?"  
"How did I figure what out?" Chat looked confused.  
Marinette frowned.  
"That I.. that he.. Oh, don't tease me, Chat."  
Silence.  
"Oh", Chat made, as realization hit him. "You mean.. You mean, you like _Adrien_? Really?"  
Marinette felt her face heat.  
This was still Chat, no need to be embarrassed. He was kind and he was her friend.  
"Oh", Chat made again.  
"Wasn't that part of the plan?", Marinette asked confused. "To help me spend time with him?"  
He slowly shook his head.  
_Uh – oh.  
_"But that's great", Chat said quickly, still staring at her and in a tone that did not quite match his words. "I guess... that must have made the day even better?"  
His voice went up at the end of the sentence, turning it into a sceptical question.  
Marinette nodded.  
"Yes, he was perfect, as always."  
Chat made a choking sound. Marinette ignored him. Was he jealous?  
"And I learned so much! It was amazing to talk to all these professionals. Oh, and the best thing" she grabbed Chat's hands and started doing her happy dance in place again, "The best news was that I might be able to intern at the Agreste design department. Well, not an actual internship but like a jobshadowing thing. Because Adrien told the designer about my work."  
"That's the best thing about today?", Chat asked.  
"Actually", Marinette bit her lips. She wasn't sure whether she could tell him.  
He wouldn't get jealous, would he? She would not want to hurt him – again.  
"Actually there was that one moment that was even better."

Adrien had a hard time keeping a straight face as Marinette told him with an endearing blush and charming spark in her eyes about _the_ moment. How she had jumped into his arms full of joy about the job opportunity, and how she thought that they connected after that.  
Adrien knew exactly what she was talking about. He could still feel her soft hands wrapping around his neck and hear her carefree laughter when he had spun her around. That was one disadvantage of the suit: He couldn't even touch her hands right now.  
"There is one thing, though", Marinette said. "That I don't understand. When we hid in that storage area.. I… I thought we would both stay there to hide. But, see, Adrien got into his closet just like me, but then just a minute or so later, he left without telling me."

Chat's eyes opened wide with astonishment, and he crushed the cookie in his hand into powder.


	16. The things she saw

"Excuse me?", Adrien croaked. "_You_ _saw what exactly?"_  
"Adrien, he left!", Marinette repeated, "He made a big deal of getting me into a storage closet, and then after a minute or so, he sneaked out of the room without telling me. I just.. I just find it hard to wrap my head around why he did that. Why he didn't take me with him."  
Adrien stared at her, his head swirling with a mix of confusion and panic and a tiny bit of .. excitement?  
He had left the room as Chat Noir.  
Had Marinette seen him?  
_Was she telling him that she k-n-e-w?  
_"How do you know that he left?", he asked, "Weren't you inside your own closet?"  
Marinette blushed a little.  
"Well, I was frightened", she said, "And I peaked into the room to make sure we were safe, and then I saw him leave."  
Adrien was trying to read her. Nothing about her showed the kind of emotional reaction that he would have expected if one of his friends found out about his identity. How could she stay so cool at such a big reveal?

_Chat Noir really needed a break. The poor boy looked completely freaked out. Marinette almost regretted bringing up Adrien's mysterious escape at all. It was a bit weird, but surely leaving her behind, safely hidden and out of immediate danger, wasn't _that _bad?  
_"Marinette", Chat began hesitantly, "I'm sorry. I don't know what to say. This whole situation is .. complicated. Are you angry at me?"  
"What? No!", she cried. "Of course not, why would I be angry with you?"  
"I know you're a very understanding person, Marinette, but this.. it is a lot to take in", he said, making puppy eyes. _Or kitty eyes?_  
She shrugged. "It just doesn't seem like Adrien."  
"No?", he said, looking confused.  
They were staring at each other, apparently both puzzled by the other's reaction, when his baton chimed and her phone buzzed.  
"Another one today", she groaned.  
Chat looked at his baton as if he wanted nothing more than to throw it from the balcony.  
"Marinette, I hate leaving you like this", he said, taking her hands. "But.. you know that I have to go and help Ladybug."  
"Of course you do", Marinette said, trying to speak with a firm, reassuring voice, "And you don't have to worry about me. I'm safe here and completely fine on my own."  
He shook his head.  
"You really are something", he mumbled, and then louder: "I'll be back as soon as we have taken care of the akuma."  
"No, Chat!", she said, "I think you should get some rest. You look very tired."  
"But.."  
"Do your hero thing and then go home. It has been a long day for both of us. I need some rest, too."  
He looked at her incredulously.  
"Don't you have questions?"  
Marinette shrugged.  
"Questions can wait. And anyway, I'm not sure you can help me with this. I might just need time, to think about it all and make up my mind on my own."  
"Oh, ok." He was still staring at her with an odd intensity.  
"I'm sorry that I have to ask you this but.. please promise me that you will not tell anyone. That's important!", he said.  
_Huh?_ Marinette studied her partner, but he was looking at her as serious as she had ever seen him, and even gripped her hands to make her meet his gaze.  
"Please?", he said again.  
"Er, sure", she responded. _The poor boy really needed some rest.  
_"Now go get that Akuma, Tiger", she squeezed his hands.  
He looked at her questioningly, but when she just kept up her smile, he sighed.  
"I'll give you space then", he said, "But .. please come talk to me whenever you are ready. I think.. it would help."  
He gave her a heart-crushingly hopeful, crooked smile.  
She just nodded and waved him forward, and when he finally moved, jumping from her balcony to zigzag away across the roofs of Paris, Tikkie already appeared from her room.


	17. May I walk you home?

May I walk you home?

When they had to fight drunken, grown-up akuma-victims, Marinette found the whole two-teenagers-saving-Paris setup even more absurd than normally. Drunken victims were tricky: while their reflexes were bad, they were also unpredictable and cared little about casualties.  
This akumatized lady was no exception, and so Marinette was glad when she made the connection and used her lucky charm to redirect the foam and soap from the weird party inside the club out on to the street, where it formed a slippery mass that brought the akuma victim to a fall and gave herself and Chat Noir time to free the akuma.  
It had been a difficult fight. Chat had been off his game throughout, confirming Marinette's worries that he had been overdoing it and needed a break. After they pounded fists on the victory, she reached out to hold on to Chat's arm.  
"Hey Kitty, a word?", she asked.  
He just nodded tiredly and followed her up to a secluded corner on the roofs.  
"Are you alright, Chat Noir?", she asked, "You seem very tired."  
He shrugged.  
"I am", he said. "Tired."  
"Is that all?", she probed. "You were really distracted tonight. Is there something I need to know?"  
He looked guilty, opened his mouth to say something, then looked at her, then closed his mouth and buried his face in his hands, moaning.  
She gently placed her hand on his arm.  
"You will hate me for this", he said between his fingers. Then he dropped his hands, and sighed. "But there is no use hiding it. I think one of my friends has discovered my secret identity."  
_What? How could that happen? Who?  
_Marinette's thoughts immediately jumped to Adrien.  
_Did Adrien know who Chat Noir was? Because of her Christmas present?  
Was that bad?  
Adrien was trustworthy, there were much worse people who could have found out.  
_She tried to stay calm. _  
_"You _think_ or you _know_?", she asked.  
"Well, she did not tell me directly but there is no other explanation.. and we couldn't talk it out because the Akuma attack interrupted us!"  
_So it was a girl. Not Adrien. Unless Chat Noir was being careful and lying. But if it was a girl…  
Holy macaron – was he talking about her? They _h-a-d _been interrupted by the Akuma attack after all.  
_"Ladybug?", Chat said, but she was too deep in her frenzy of thoughts. _  
It couldn't be her, she had no idea who he was under his mask.  
Unless he only thought she knew although she did not know, but however could he have gotten this idea?  
_"Ladybug", he said again, "I am sorry. I will find out, and then we can discuss what to do.. She … she is a wonderful person. I mean, she is trustworthy. Even if she knows, I will be able to continue my work."  
_Wow, he did like this girl a lot. Why did the thought of Chat liking another girl bother her so much? _"How could this happen?", she asked.  
Chat blushed.  
"I.. I was maybe a bit careless because I wanted to protect her and I did not think through what I was doing", Chat Noir admitted.  
"You like this girl?", she couldn't stop herself from asking.  
He blushed even further.  
"Yeah. I .. I like her a lot. And, I think, well, she was telling me that she likes me, too. But, I'm sorry, I think I should not talk about this too much. It might give you clues about my identity, too."  
Marinette was staring at Chat Noir. _  
He liked her. Had he really fallen for her.. _twice .. _first as Ladybug, then as Marinette?  
_"When exactly did you find out about this?", she asked.  
"Erm", he hesitated, "I was visiting her tonight, right before the akuma alarm. But like I said, I think we need to be careful about what I can tell you."  
"I..", Marinette was struggling to keep her mouth shut.  
_Chat Noir thought that she knew who he was. _  
_Whatever had she done to make him think so? All they had been talking about was.. Adrien.  
And he liked her. Chat.  
And he thought that she liked him back, the delusional…  
_"Ladybug, please, I am so sorry. I will make this right. She is a very good friend of mine and I.. I know we can trust her. If I had to trust anyone with this, it would be her. I will make sure that she does not tell anyone, I promise. I just need to get back to her now." Chat was looking at her, pleading.  
_Well he was right about the part that she was trustworthy. If anyone understood the importance of keeping his identity a secret.._  
"Ok", she managed to say, "We will figure it out. It is not the end of the world, otherwise Bunnix would have appeared to make us correct our mistakes."  
She tried a reassuring smile.  
"Thank you, Ladybug", he said.  
Her earring beeped.  
"We should leave quickly", he said. "Do you live close enough to make it home? Or should I wait until your kwami has recharged? I haven't used the cataclysm, so I can wait."  
_He might be a lunatic, but he was a gentleman behind that mask. He did not leave her on her own to feed her kwami in some dark alley.  
_"It's ok if we leave right away", she said. "But.. I need to know what you find out tonight. Could we meet again tomorrow and you tell me what happened with your .. friend?"

They arranged a meeting the next day, and then Marinette watched Chat Noir hurry, as expected, away across the roofs into the direction of the Dupain-Cheng bakery.  
She didn't have much time left before she would transform back, so she had to follow him. She tried to keep a little distance between them, hoping that he was too distracted to notice that she was practically following him.  
When she saw him land on the balcony, her earring beeped again. Quickly, she headed for a sidestreet, close to her parents home. Ducking behind a dumpster, it was a bit dark and scary.  
She checked to make sure that no-one was watching and when she felt safe, she whispered, "Spots off". An agitated Tikki floated hectically up and down in front of her.  
"Marinette, what a mess", Tikki said in a desperate tone. "You need to explain to him that you do not know who he is, before he can slip up and reveal himself by accident."  
"Here, Tikki", Marinette handed her a macaron. "Calm down. Of course I will do that."  
Her Kwami took the macaron, but she seemed to want to keep the mouth free to talk to her.  
Something rustled behind Marinette in the dark – a rat?  
"Let's talk inside", she said, and opened her bag for Tikki before she stormed off towards her parent's place. Maybe she could get in unnoticed, and otherwise, she preferred her parents scolding her for sneaking out at night over whatever dirty animals were lurking in the gutter. And if Chat Noir saw her, she would just …  
"Marinette, what are you doing out here at night?"  
She squeaked. There he was. She hadn't even finished the thought, and he had already landed next to her on the pavement.  
_Stupid cat night vision.  
_"I.. I just went out", she offered weekly, and looking at his shocked expression: "Please don't tell me that this is too dangerous. I am way too tired to argue with you tonight."  
"May I walk you home then?", he said gently, with a questioning tone.  
"Well, actually, since you are here.. Would you mind giving me a lift to the balcony so that I don't have to wake my parents?"

* * *

_Hello back! It's a time for fluffy stories to enjoy, and it felt so good to take the time off yesterday to write. I hope you equally like the show down of this story in the last chapters to come._  
_If you do not remember the last episode, maybe read again the last two or three chapters. Marinette has just confessed to Chat that she likes Adrien and Chat thinks that Marinette knows his true identity, but she actually does not – Tikki just messed up a little bit…. Basically, it is a big mess of secrets! And an Akuma attack has interrupted Marinette and Chat Noir before they could figure it all out.  
_


	18. Miraculous ways

Adrien held out his arms with what he hoped was a dashing smile, and watched as Marinette stepped forward hesitantly, to quickly wrap her arms around his neck so that he could pick her up.  
She immediately closed her eyes and leaned her head against his chest.  
Adrien had held her like this before, but it hadn't felt like this.  
This time, he understood why his heart was beating like crazy with her slender body so close to him. And he was very aware of how soft her skin felt where her hands touched his neck.  
He _liked_ this kind, funny, and clever girl in his arms - so much. And he was so excited that in some miraculous way she liked him, too. Even if she had said so referring to his boring civilian self, she had simultaneously hinted at the fact that she knew he was also Chat Noir.  
The fact that she might truely know him in that way made the news of her affections for him a thousand times - oh, they had already landed on her rooftop balcony and he had to put her down.  
Marinette's eyes remained closed. She looked exhausted.  
"Marinette", he whispered. "Marinette, we are here."  
"Mmmh", she made and snuggled into his chest.  
His heart made a jump.  
"Did you fall asleep? How did you manage that so quickly?", he asked, and added with a nervous laugh, "Do I need to carry you inside?"  
To his surprise, more mumbling followed, in an affirmative tone.  
So Adrien used his feet to open the door to her room, and carefully maneuvered down the stairs, making sure not to bump her into the wall.  
Then they were standing in front of her bed.  
"Just put me down", she mumbled.  
Adrien lowered her onto the bed. When she did not move, he took off her shoes and placed them neatly next to her bed.  
"Thank you", she whispered, turning to the side to sink deeper into her pillow.  
He couldn't help himself, he sat down next to her on the bed and waited.  
It was quiet and dark in the familiar room. Marinette's breathing was even, but her face looked sweaty and her hair was clutching to her forehead.  
He hesitated, but then he reached out and gently stroked across her forehead to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.  
He kept looking at her. He didn't want to stare like a creep, but he just couldn't help it.  
She looked so fragile as she was lying there. Pretty, even with hair wild and her stunning eyes closed.  
He wanted to let her rest, but there was so much that they needed to discuss.  
Adrien fidgetted a bit.  
"I know you think that we need to talk", Marinette mumbled, eyes closed, "but I think it is very important that I can think things through before we do."  
He sighed, and she reached out a hand to pat his hand sleepily.  
He looked at her small hand. Her pale skin formed a stark contrast to his black, leather gloves.  
When he turned his hand around to meet hers, their fingers intertwined as if out of a mind of their own.  
"It would be nice to do this without the suit", he whispered, a little shocked by his own bravery, and not daring not meet Marinette's eyes.  
But Marinette did not respond.  
When he finally looked up, he noticed that her breathing was deep and regular – she had fallen asleep.  
Adrien sighed.  
He remained there for a while, sitting next to her. Listening to her breathing and trying not to think too much about what could be.  
When his own eyelids got heavy, he contemplated just lying down next to her bed. But he did not want to intrude. He wanted to give her the space that she had asked for, to let her think.  
So he carefully unwrapped his fingers from hers, and picked up one of the post-its on Marinette's bedside table.  
"Good night, Marinette. Please let me know when you are ready to talk. C"

* * *

When Marinette woke up the next morning, she felt a pang of guilt.  
She had panicked. She hadn't known how to handle the conversation with Chat – hadn't been ready to hear that he liked her and been terribly afraid that he might say something that could reveal his identity before she could convince him that she had no idea who he was. And for a lack of better ideas, and because she had felt so comfortable and cozy in his arms, she had exaggerated a bit about being tired. She had meant to stay awake and think things through after he had gone. But instead, she had _actually_ fallen asleep and hadn't even noticed him leaving. Something about Chat's presence made her feel safe and forget about all the ups and downs of the day.  
_And what a day it had been!  
_She had been so excited about spending time with Adrien.  
The breakfast on the roof had been marvelous. So romantic.  
And the tour through his father's company. She had learned more about fashion than in all the 16 years of her life before.  
The embrace when she had been so overjoyed about the possible internship that she hadn't noticed what she was doing before it had already happened, and she was in Adrien's arms..  
Marinette hugged her cat pillow, remembering how they had laughed at each other when he had twirled her around.  
Then, the Akuma. Adrien had grapped her hand, they had run away from the Akuma, hid in the storage area.  
Waiting with the transformation until it was safe to come out.. Until Tikki had told her that Adrien had left the room.  
The fight – another energy-sapping fight, but Chat Noir had been there even before her, fighting the Akuma.  
Afterwards, she had run into Adrien as Ladybug, which had ended their wonderful day early because she had had to come up with some excuse about her whereabouts and told him that she had taken Marinette home.  
So she could only text with Adrien to thank him for the lovely morning.  
And then at night Chat had dropped by. The other charming blond boy in her life.  
Another hug which had felt way too good.  
But she had barely had a chance to thank him and..  
Marinette blushed when she remembered how she had told Chat about her crush on Adrien. And then they had talked about..  
Marinette gasped.  
_Was that possible?  
_If thoughts could make card wheels, her thoughts were doing acrobatics.  
_She had told _Chat_ that she liked _Adrien_, and minutes later, he had told Ladybug that he believed that she liked him _because _she told him_ so_.  
Was that possible?  
_Marinette pressed her hands to her mouth.  
"Oh my god, oh my god", she squeeled.  
"Tikki!"


	19. Turn back time

_Thanks for reading! Next chapter is written, just needs a second read + edit and will follow later this week. Then only two more chapters to go. PS: I love your comments/reviews. First time author here and it is so nice to hear from readers :)_

Tikki shot towards Marinette.  
She didn't have a good feeling about this.  
"Yes, Marinette?"  
"Tikki, is Adrien Chat Noir?", Marinette said.  
Tikki looked at the teenage girl in front of her and sighed.  
"Even if he was and if I wanted to tell you, I could not, Marinette", she said, "Kwamis cannot reveal the identity of miraculous holders."  
_At least not intentionally, _she thought, _only by being an eternal idiot and slipping up.  
_She made a final, feeble attempt._  
_"You had this suspicion before, Marinette, and you concluded that Chat Noir could not be Adrien. Remember?"_  
_Marinette made a frustrated sound and threw up her hands, before turning towards her bedside table.  
Marinette grabbed something small and stared at it, mumbling a few more "Oh my god."  
"Tikki", her face had turned even paler when she looked up and held out a post-it note with shaking hands. It was the note that Chat Noir had left the night before.  
"I am quite sure that this is Adrien's handwriting."  
At this, Marinette seemed to freeze in her odd posture, with her arm outstretched.  
Tikki watched her, sighing.  
_There had been so many situations in which the two teenagers had been close to discovering each other's identity, and yet, they had managed to avoid the reveal so far. Of course it was bound to happen at some point, Tikki told herself.  
_"Marinette!", she gently nudged the girl's cheek, but Marinette remained still.  
Tikki could practically hear Plagg's sarcastic commentary. If he was in the room, he would undoubtedly say something like: "Sugarcube, I think you broke her."

Marinette was not broken. The unevitable squealing, hair pulling and jumping had followed all too soon, and Tikki had channeled the self-composure that she had gained in six thousand years to wait it out. She had waited, and watched, and made a plan.  
Chat Noir could still be convinced that Marinette had no clue who he was. Ironically, of course, the only reason why Marinette did know, was because he incorrectly assumed that she knew although she did not and because he did not know that she was Ladybug. Tikki had to admit, this _was _one of the more complicated reveals that she had experienced. Quite fitting given the characters involved, she thought, looking at Marinette who was currently dangling from her bed and making weird noises.  
The hard thing would be to get Marinette on board.  
More squealing.  
Actually, there was probably no way that Marinette would lie to Adrien about knowing his identity. But would Marinette at least protect her own secret identity?  
"Marinette… I hate to remind you.. but you.. Ladybug.. and Chat Noir agreed to meet this morning", Tikki said eventually. "May I offer that I will go in your place, and tell them that you are sick?"  
"Oh, Tikki, would you?" Marinette nodded quickly, "I know I need to see him but right now, I am not sure what would happen."  
"I agree", Tikki said. "So let's discuss to make sure that I do not say anything that could compromise your identity." _Again_, she added silently.


End file.
